Make Me a Match: The 125th Hunger Games
by goldie031
Summary: When the Quell twist is a Design-Your-Own-Quell-Twist, President Ruby Emerald decides to utilize the Games to help her son Garnet find a wife. But to what degree will Garnet actually follow his mother's instructions, and to what degree will he disobey her?
1. Make Me a Match

The morning of the Quell announcement, Ruby Emerald woke up with a pit in her stomach.

She'd had a conversation with her husband and her son three months prior, in which she'd very clearly outlined a deadline for Garnet to follow her instructions.

And he'd taken that deadline and completely ignored it.

* * *

 _Three Months Ago…._

"Garnet," called Ruby to her son, "would you please join your father and I at the kitchen table? We need to discuss something with you."

Garnet trudged out of his room and sat down at the kitchen table, his father at the head as always and his mother across the table.

Mike, Ruby's husband, glanced at his wife. Ruby began.

"Garnet, as you know, being the child of the President of Panem, you are expected to serve as a shining example for the children and young adults of Panem to follow. As such, children of the President have always married very young, at the age of eighteen and a half at the oldest. Your sister, Cerise, followed my instructions to a T, and found her love and was married very close to her eighteenth birthday, and now has a beautiful family. As my son, you are expected to follow in your sister's footsteps.

"You will turn eighteen three months from today, one week before the announcement of the Fifth Quarter Quell. Panem is still reeling from the last one, and so it is important that we juxtapose the Quell announcement with something of joy. Therefore, it is a matter of national importance that you find a girl to be your wife between in the next three months and one week."

"But Mom!" exclaimed Garnet. "I'm not ready to be married. I'm too young. Way too young. I refuse."

It was time for Ruby to break out the mother voice. "Garnet," she said ominously, raising her voice on the last syllable. "As your President, I beg you. As your mother, I command you."

A very tense five minutes of arguing followed, during which Garnet did everything in his power to frustrate his mother. Finally, Ruby was done arguing with her son. "You know what?" she concluded. "Fine. As long as you have a spouse by the date of the Quell announcement, I don't care." And with that, she left the table.

"Of course she has to have the last word," muttered Garnet under his breath.

* * *

So now Ruby was a bit stuck. She had been planning for three weeks to announce her son's engagement on television that night. Garnet, however, had been avoiding her for days; clearly, he hadn't followed her instructions. She figured she'd ask him one last time and give him the benefit of the doubt. "Garnet, honey," she called, in a softer tone than she usually used with her son.

Garnet poked his head out of his room. "Yes, mother?"

"I just want to know whether or not I should extend the broadcast announcement past the announcement of the Quell."

"No, you shouldn't," replied Garnet, as he slunk back into his quarters.

 _Maybe he'll have a wife by the time of the Games,_ thought Ruby. _We still have a while to go._

* * *

That night, Ruby prepared for the Quell announcement. She donned a conservative red dress to match her ruby-red hair and quickly applied her makeup before heading over to the stage. It was a bit of controlled chaos – everyone was running around under the direction of Portia Andeers, one of Ruby's most trusted assistants and the head stage and technology manager for each ceremonies related to the Games. Portia was well respected, if not feared, by everyone she worked with during the time before, during, and after the Games.

When she arrived, she was met by her sister, Amethyst, who had retained the Head Gamemaker post for a very long time. Amethyst had taken two years off at two separate times, but it became very apparent that the replacements were far from her level. After all, she had put in a lot of effort to make sure that everyone felt comfortable sharing their ideas and working in her office, and it had drastically increased the productivity and effectiveness there, leading to much better Arenas and Games.

"Any ideas about tonight, Amethyst?" asked Ruby, embracing her sister and giving her a peck on the cheek.

"I wish," Amethyst replied. "It would certainly make my life a little bit easier."

"Don't you have an Arena design already? I thought you submitted one for me."

"Technically, yes," Amethyst explained, "but sometimes the Quell twist can change the way that the Arena needs to be constructed. I had one planned for the 100th Games, but I had to change it a lot after the twist was announced."

The two continued making small talk to fill the time until Ruby felt a tug on her dress. She looked down to find her granddaughter, Rose, looking up to her with expectant brown eyes. Ruby swept her granddaughter up and gave her a big hug. "How's my little Rosie today?" she asked.

"I get to carry the Quell box today! Do you like my dress? Mommy got me a new white dress for today"

"Of course I do, baby girl! I'm so proud of you."

Portia suddenly appeared out of nowhere, wearing a black top, jeans, and a headset around her neck. "Madam President, Miss Rose, we must get into position for the Reading of the Card." Portia knew that she absolutely couldn't yell at the President, or at any of the President's family, though everyone else was fair game. Amethyst put an encouraging hand on her sister's shoulder before Portia ushered the two women to their places in the wings. As they walked, Rose whispered excitedly to her grandmother, "She called me Miss Rose!"

* * *

Ruby came out onto the stage looking, as usual, very presidential. She knew that all of Panem was watching and so she made sure to look as proper as she could be.

"Greetings, citizens of Panem, and welcome to the Reading of the Card for the Fifth Quarter Quell!" The Capitol citizens in the audience went wild, before quieting down to listen to Ruby retell the story of the greatness of Panem, the Dark Days, and the institution of the Hunger Games and the Quarter Quells, then reminded the people Panem of the previous four Quarter Quell twists.

"On the twenty-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that their children were dying because of their choice to initiate violence, every district was made to hold an election and vote on the tributes who would represent it.

"On the fiftieth anniversary, as a reminder that two rebels died for each Capitol citizen, every district was required to send twice as many tributes.

"On the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that even the youngest and the oldest played a role in the Dark Days, only children of the ages of 19 and 11 were eligible to be reaped.

"On the one hundredth anniversary, the first Centenary Games took place. Two boys and two girls from each district were reaped, as well as two boys and two girls between the ages of 5 and 11. Through a complex and difficult Games, more than one tribute was left alive at the end, as a symbol of the Capitol's mercy.

"And now, we honor our Fifth Quarter Quell." Rose stepped forward, offering the Quell Box to her grandmother. Ruby carefully opened the box and selected the envelope marked with the number 125. She carefully opened the seal and removed the card. "As a reminder of the ultimate power of the Capitol, this year's Quarter Quell twist will be decided upon by the President of Panem."

 _Hmm,_ thought Ruby, ideas swirling around her heads. _This has a lot of potential. I could really make this work._

* * *

Amethyst sat at Ruby's kitchen table, poring over pages and pages of her sister's mostly illegible notes. "Ruby, I still don't think I understand what your idea is. Explain it to me one more time."

"OK, so here's what's going to happen. Each District and the Capitol reaps four girls, regular reaping ages. They go through chariot rides, training, and the interviews as normal. Then, Garnet then gets to pick 26 of them right after the interviews, and from those 26 he'll pick a wife. Any Capitol girls who don't get picked go back to their homes, and the remaining District tributes go in to the Games. A minimum of 22 tributes and a maximum of 26 tributes shouldn't change things much."

"So let's start with the little missed details. First of all, on the technical side, we need to be planning for a set number of tributes. Which means that you can say we have to have 26 tributes no matter what, and pick extra tributes to fill in, or we'll have 22 no matter what, and if we have extra we'll pick names randomly to decide who gets to go back home with no reward but no Games."

"OK, so let's say 24 and we'll reap from a bowl of all the girls in Panem to fill in or pick from the remaining ones randomly to take out. We'll need to reap two more, max."

"And what if those two aren't trained?"

"Let's figure those details out later on. But we can make sure that there's no issue there."

"OK." Amethyst took a deep breath. After all, she was really the only person who could criticize the president, though she had to do so very carefully. "But Ruby," scolded Amethyst mildly, "you're basically using these Games just for your benefit. I think that most of the Capitol people know how old your son is and how young your daughter was when she married. This won't help your approval rating at all."

"Hmm." Ruby thought for a moment. "How about this. Any girls picked for Garnet's selection are safe from the Reaping for their entire lives, as are their siblings. The winning girl gets to move to the Capitol to marry Garnet, obviously, as does her whole family."

Amethyst pondered over her sister's idea. "You know what? That's interesting. It changes the way that families in the Districts handle the reaping. Because a girl from 2 getting picked by Garnet and winning leads her and her siblings to never be able to go into the Games. But a girl from a poorer District getting picked might lead her to not be selected, and she'll probably die."

"And anybody from the Districts who says it's not fair had the opportunity to go in. It's then at Garnet's whim as well, which adds another twist."

"I like it."

* * *

When Garnet heard about the Quell twist, he immediately went into his room and flung himself onto his bed. _Wow, she's really gonna make me do this, isn't she,_ he thought, more than frustrated at his mother. She needed to let him have time to find someone to marry. Appearance wise, it wasn't going to be a problem. He was certainly good looking, with his perfectly coiffed sandy brown hair, glistening blue eyes, perfectly tan skin, and impeccable physique. He just didn't feel he was ready.

And now, not only was he forced to find a bride, but he had to find her through the one institution of Panem that he couldn't stand more than anything else. Garnet had never liked the Hunger Games at all. He thought they were a disgusting, anachronistic display of brutality and terror that really needed to end sooner rather than later. (This was exactly why the plan was for his sister to take over from their mother and not him.)

Suddenly, Garnet had a realization. To a certain degree, the outcome of the Games was totally in his hands. And that opened up a whole new world of possibilities.

* * *

 **So here is the next story in my Quarter Quell series. I can't guarantee I'll go past this one, but I had a brilliant idea for this story one day and I though, I have to pull it off!**

 **The form for this story is on my profile, and please only submit it by PM. Please fill in the question "What do they do during the day?" with the answer "Rides horses and reads poetry" so that I know you've read this beforehand. You may submit up to 3 tributes.**

 **You may submit up to 3 tributes.** **I'm looking for a variety of tributes, so please make them detailed and give them various motivations for entering the Games. Have fun with it!**

 **I'm not going to put a set deadline on tributes, but I probably won't accept new ones past the end of December. Good luck!**

 **-goldie031**


	2. Information Overload

Amethyst walked on stage in the auditorium in the Gamemakers' Complex. She was facing a very excited audience of the selected stylists and escorts for the Games. However, because of the complex nature of the Games, the number of both was more than doubled. Meaning that none of them were actually interested in listening to her, because they wanted to get to know the new people taking part in the Games.

"OK, friends, I know you're all excited, but please listen up to me. We have a lot of little details to discuss, and it is of the utmost importance for you all to pay attention."

The room quieted down as a screen lowered behind Amethyst. The Head Gamemaker took a deep breath and began.

"As you probably know, the nature of these Games increases the number of people involved with them, not just in competition, but outside of it. We have more than doubled the number of both escorts and stylists in these Games, so please pay attention to me so that everyone understands the logistics here.

"Each district, including the Capitol, will be assigned four stylists and two mentors. When a stylist is assigned a tribute, they will stick with her for the whole time that they are in the game. Meaning, if your tribute lasts to the end of the Selection, you will work with them for that whole time. What that means in turn is that it is possible that, depending on how long Garnet takes to choose, you could be with your tribute through next year's Games.

"If you would like any specific district or stylist partner, please let me know. I can't guarantee that you'll obtain that district, but I can certainly try.

"Escorts, you will also be paired up, with one of you selected as the primary escort. That primary escort will be the one of you with more experience, and will be responsible for most of the standard things – landing sponsors, drawing names, et cetera. The job of the secondary escort is much more simple – you'll be forming a relationship with the tributes, because if they are selected by Garnet, you'll be staying on their floor and being a friend to them. This means that you also may not be able to participate in next year's Games.

"For the extra Capitol escort and two extra stylists, your role will still be important in these Games. We are going to be selecting two backup tributes to in order to cover our numbers; if Garnet selects 25 or 26 tributes from the Districts, we'll have fewer than 24 going into the Games. The two backup tributes will each have a stylist and they will have one escort, and they will be training with the other tributes; unlike the others, however, they won't have any access to Garnet during the course of the pre-Games, and will not have an interview or ride on the chariots, though we will need stylists in the event that they make it to the end of the Games. The escort for the two backup tributes will serve as their escort in the event that they go into the Games.

"That was a lot of information. Are there any questions?"

The room was silent.

"If anyone else has any questions, please let me know. We will allow you to start designing outfits within the next week or two. Good luck!"


	3. A Way In

Amethyst and Ruby sat at a table in the Head Gamemaker's Office, putting together the last details of the 125th Hunger Games with Portia Andeers.

"So the plan is for these Games to start at night, yeah?" asked Ruby.

"Exactly," replied Portia. "Amethyst and I thought it would be fun to amp up the drama. So we're going to put all of the tributes in the hovercraft and do trackers for all of them, though we won't actually have trackers for the Selection girls, and then the Selection girls will launch onto a stage to watch the Bloodbath, into which the tributes will launch."

Ruby nodded her head in approval. "Did the arena change at all?" she asked.

Amethyst pushed a piece of paper across the table. "Here's the latest plan. What do you think?"

"I like it."

"Here's my worry, though," mentioned Amethyst casually. "What are we going to do with the Selection girls after the week of the Reaping? We don't want to push Garnet into making a decision, right?"

"Correct…" Ruby replied.

Amethyst continued, "But we're going to have a lot of girls with very little to do. We need somebody to handle and monitor them. I'm going to be too busy with Games stuff, and I think Portia is perfectly content in her current position."

Portia nodded in agreement. "I've already started the planning for this year's Games, which from the tech perspective will be more complex than usual. While I would like to handle the Selection, I think it makes more sense for me to stay as stage and technology manager."

Ruby had been planning on asking Portia to take over the Selection, so this mutual decision (that apparently had been made without asking her) certainly threw a wrench into her plans. "So who do you suggest to handle it, Portia?" she asked, attempting not to sound as passive-aggressive as she felt like being.

"Maybe one of Amethyst's Gamemakers?"

"I'm bringing back most of my Gamemakers from the last Quell, because of the complexities of handling one, and there are zero of them that I would feel confident in handling something new like this. And before you ask, there's no way that I'm handling it, and there's no way that Ruby can."

The three began to brainstorm potential people to take over the Selection. They didn't seem to be getting anywhere; luckily, the answer to their problem walked right through the door.

"Good afternoon, Mommy!" exclaimed Violet Emerald, barging through the door to the office as only she had the right to do. Violet had always had a special relationship with her mother, serving as a messenger between the Head Gamemaker and the President from a very young age. Though it was her older sister Lavender who had been trained to take over from Amethyst, Violet was very much the darling of both women, and would give her cousin Cerise a run for her money to succeed Ruby as President.

"Good afternoon, Violet! What a nice surprise!" exclaimed Amethyst, embracing her daughter. "How are the kids?"

"Good, good. All is well. I just wanted to check in to see if you needed any help going into the Quell." Violet fully intended to be involved in this year's Games in some way. She'd been biding her time, watching her mother and her aunt do their jobs, but she was now established with her husband and two kids, and was more than ready to step into the higher ranks of her older female relatives.

Ruby, Portia, and Amethyst bent over the table and had a heated whisper conversation before turning back to Violet.

"Actually, yes. We were wondering if you would take on the very important job of handling the selection. You know Garnet very well, and we think that you're more than capable of managing the girls involved."

That wasn't exactly what Violet wanted. She knew that it would be a very temporary position; unless they replicated the Selection with Cerise's eleven-year-old son Cornelius in seven years, who wasn't even the son of a president yet, it was likely that this would be a one-time thing. And if she proved herself here, she couldn't necessarily replicate in future years.

But at least it was a way in.

"Sure! I'd be more than happy to!"


	4. Playing Catch-Up

Tyranny Bomber had adjusted to her role as a Victor quite quickly.

She often found herself being mentored while she was mentoring. The luxury of being in a district with so many Victors was that only a few of them actually mentored every year. So she only mentored for the first time three or four years after her Victory, working with Cashmere or Vane Kilen during those years.

She was finally cleared to mentor by herself, but quickly found herself in the same position as those older victors, mentoring those who came after her. She kind of liked the idea of working together, the more mature helping the less mature and passing on their wisdom. One of her fondest memories was receiving a piece of advice from District One's first Victor that had been passed down through mentors for years.

Tyranny was now 42, and still unmarried. She was OK with that, though. Tyranny wasn't so into the idea of love, though she had never had a problem with that. She was much more comfortable just being by herself, focusing all of her energy on the Games. Tyranny had also begun to work in the Academy, training the tweenage girls and helping them grow into the legacy that the previous Victors had left for them.

* * *

In District Two, Victor's Village had quickly become overcrowded. After all, there were only twelve houses, and way more than twelve living victors. This meant that related victors had to live together. And so, the entire Hatch clan lived under one roof.

Smash and Crash's parents were both Victors in their seventies, who were unbelievably proud of their twin Victor children. Ember and Stallion Hatch loved nothing more than mentoring as a family, and their relationship with both children had improved after the Fourth Quarter Quell.

Smash had gotten married very early, as soon as she turned 22. Her oldest child was only eleven, but she had three more after that. Though they were all training and could easily go into the Games, Smash wasn't sure if that was something she wanted to do.

On the other hand, Crash had only just gotten married. He wasn't sure if he was really ready to have kids, and the thought of them going into the Games was something he couldn't bear. So he and his wife had decided never to try for kids, and instead let them happen as they may.

The Hatch twins occasionally hated living with each other, but they were able to put together mentoring strategies. Most of the time, those strategies worked very well, but occasionally it was difficult, especially when there was a very strong tribute from District One or Four.

But in the end, their Games had definitely brought the twins closer together, and they were certainly happy to have each other.

* * *

It was a good thing for the District Eleven tributes that the Fourth Quarter Quell was not a normal Games.

Quiinn Jones escaped from most of the bad memories he encountered there. So he came in to the first five or so Games completely ready to mentor. Though his mental state had deteriorated since, he was certainly in better shape than the other mentors in his district.

Over time, all of his mentors had passed away, but he stayed strong, a fixed feature in the district and someone looked to as a loving son and brother, and, later, a strong husband and father.

Quiinn eventually was married, and had children, using his wealth as a Victor to keep his whole family safe from the Games. Sometimes, he struggled to understand the best way to explain to his children, nieces, and nephews what happened. And though he sometimes struggled with the impact of the Games on him, he always found comfort in watching his baby sisterHannass grow up. And she had grown up beautifully.

* * *

 **Hey friends!**

 **I wanted to give this chapter to just check in with the Victors from Only Time Will Tell. Yes, we are in the same universe, so that's why we're seeing them here!**

 **If you know anybody who would be interested in submitting for this story, please, please spread the word! I only have a few submissions and I really want to get this off the ground!**

 **Thank you all for your tributes and your support. I hope to start with reapings soon!**

 **-goldie031**


	5. The Victors' Council

One little-known fact in Panem about the Hunger Games was of the existence of the Victors' Council.

Made up of the oldest living Victor from each district, it was the easiest way to communicate valuable information about the Games to the rest of the people who needed to know it. So Amethyst and Violet chose to call a meeting of the Council to remind the Victors of the important details of the Games. Amethyst had conducted most of the meeting, but now at its conclusion turned it over to Violet.

"Lastly, we wanted to go over with you quickly some of the logistics to do with the Selection.

"The first thing is that, if one of your tributes goes into the Games, your priority needs to be on them, meaning that the only circumstance in which any mentor would be dealing with the Selection is if all four of the tributes from your district have been Selected. Which brings me to my second point: the Selection is Garnet's decision. You shouldn't be influencing him in any way. You also shouldn't be coaching the tributes in how to appeal to Garnet in one way or another. We want this to be his decision and his decision only. You may, of course, advise your tributes on how to handle the Games.

"Tributes will have set times to meet with Garnet. They will not be given any extra time regardless of whether they ask for it, giving all of them an equal chance to make an impression. Garnet will be meeting with them at night on the three training days and the day before the interviews, one tribute randomly selected per district on each of those days. No time will be taken from training for any of them to ensure than everyone has equal time.

"Are there any questions?"

Nobody said anything.

"Good. If you have any issues, please let me or Amethyst know. I can't wait to meet all of the ladies!"

All of the Victors followed out, but Gloss very intentionally waited back to talk to Enobaria. The two had a very close relationship, and most importantly, headed an even less well-known Victors' Council – the joint effort between One and Two. This Council was formed after the Fourth Quell, when Smash, Crash, and Tyranny had begun to spend a lot of time together. During the fourth quarter-century of Games, Career packs had been more volatile than ever, leading earlier implosions than ever before and a slew of outer-District Victors that probably shouldn't have won, like both Laurel twins in 84 and 85 and the Sheaf twins in 95 and 99. After the friendship between the three Victors from the 100th Games became firmly established during the Victory tour, the Victors from both Districts realized that their odds of getting one Victor were increased if they worked together.

Unbeknownst to the trainees from either District, they began to exchange profiles of the top trainees each year. Sometimes, if District Two had a particularly strong Career that was nearly unbeatable, One would send in slightly weaker tributes, especially if the stronger trainees had at least one more year of eligibility. Occasionally, this would also happen the other way around, but that was admittedly much rarer. When no one clear Victor emerged, the Council would try to pick four tributes that balanced each other out, ensuring that there was a Career pack that was strong on all counts and could actually work together.

"So, do you have the bios?" asked Gloss, holding out a folder to Enobaria. She took it gave him a folder of her own.

"Here are mine. How are you guys handling the Quell twist this year?"

"The current plan (obviously we haven't picked tributes yet) is to have two tributes that are clearly better bets for the Games and two that are clearly better bets for the Selection. Tug at Garnet's heartstrings, that kind of thing. All of them will be trained, so any of them could go into the Arena if needed, but ideally it would go that way. Once we pick our four, we'll let you know what our intention is, and then you can pick yours accordingly. But knowing you guys, you have a slew of Games tributes and not really anyone for the Selection." Gloss playfully elbowed Enobaria.

"You're right," she marveled. "Most of our trained tributes are Games-hardened. So we don't really have a better idea."

"Well you'd better come up with one quickly," quipped Gloss. "We'll pick without you if we don't know which way you're going.

* * *

 **Hey guys!**

 **I've gotten some great tributes so far. Really phenomenal. The problem I've been having is that I've gotten a lot of Games tributes, and not quite as many Selection tributes. So there's that.**

 **Otherwise, I'm so appreciative for all of your support. If there's anybody that you can reach out to and see if they'll submit, it would help all of us out with getting to see the tributes sooner. As soon as I have one district full, I'm going to post a pre-Reapings chapter or 2 and then the first Reapings. Until then, more background like this.**

 **Catch you with the next chapter!**

 **-goldie031**


	6. District 2 Reapings

**Hey guys!**

 **Here are the first reapings! Each character will get a POV in their respective reaping chapter, either in the reapings or the goodbyes. If your character gets a goodbye POV, they're guaranteed another POV before the Games, but if their POV is during the reapings, I can't guarantee it.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Janari Lovarre, 16_

* * *

There were three reasons why Janari Lovarre was confused about being called to Enobaria's office.

It was a pretty well-known fact in District 2 that being called into Enobaria's office meant that one would be asked to volunteer for the Games. As Jan walked towards the Main Academy, in which Enobaria's office was located, she thought about those three reasons again.

First of all, generally, tributes were picked at least a month before the Games. Six months before, the top 20 of each gender (though this year, it was the top 50 girls) traveled to the Main Academy in the District to train in a more intense fashion. Generally, the tributes were picked with enough time to learn to work as a team before moving into the Games.

Secondly, Jan was only sixteen years old. Generally, unless the trainee in question was either stellar or very well-liked, volunteers were no younger than seventeen. And Jan was certainly not a stellar trainee, primarily for the third reason.

She'd never trained a day in her life.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. Janari trained for a few weeks after she turned six. But one day, while play fighting with her sister, Carissa threw a stick that she was using as a spear and it hit Jan on the side of her neck. It was such a bad scratch that she needed stitches, and since that day, she had had zero interest in training for the Games.

Anyway, Janari had a feeling about two of the volunteers. The Academy tried to keep it a secret, but in some years it didn't completely work. For one thing, it was a well-known fact that the best tribute in the Academy was Vixyn Kearne, and as an 18-year-old, she'd certainly solidified her spot. Right behind her was Bellona Terminus; though she was only seventeen, she was as good as her older counterpart, and was also shoo-in because she was the granddaughter of Enobaria.

So that left two slots. Jan wondered who would fill them.

When she arrived at the Main Academy, she was greeted by one face that she hadn't seen in weeks, that of her sister Carissa. The two were clearly related; both had the same golden blonde hair and slightly larger nose, though Carissa's eyes were brown and Janari's were green, and Carissa's skin was tanner than her sister's from training outside.

"Hey there, Jan," Carissa said, ruffling Janari's hair. "Are you headed to Enobaria's office now?"

"Yep. Are you coming with me?"

"Yeah, I was called in today too. I wonder what it's about."

Janari was amazed by the Main Academy. She had never seen any of its facilities before, and though she had no interest in using them, she could certainly understand the appeal to those who were training. Carissa helped through navigate through the large building in the center of town up to Enobaria's office, which overlooked the main gym.

"Hello, Carissa! I have been pleased to see substantial improvements in your training over the past few days," Enobaria got up from her desk to greet the sisters. "And Janari. It's so nice to meet you!"

"It's nice to m-m-meet you as well, Enobaria," stuttred Janari shyly.

"Please, girls, have a seat." Janari and Carissa sat in the two large chairs opposite Enobaria's desk as the elderly Victor returned to her seat behind it. "Janari, I called you in because the other trainers and Victors and I have been discussing the Volunteers for this year's Games. As you know, the addition of the Selection makes it very unpredictable, and it is hard for us to know exactly who to ask to Volunteer. After a lengthly discussion, we came to the conclusion that it would be best to select one girl in the hopes that she will be placed into the Selection, by setting her up as somebody very different from the other girls. And we think you, Janari, would be a perfect fit."

Janari instinctively began to rub the scar on her neck. "Th-th-that's very nice of you, Enobaria."

"We believe that you have the beauty and the charm to impress Garnet, more than anyone else to whom we looked. Your sister Carissa said so herself."

"That's right," boasted Carissa. "I think Garnet would definitely pick you!"

"We would do everything in our power to ensure that he does," continued Enobaria. "So will you do it?"

For the next ten minutes, Carissa and Enobaria did everything they could to convince Janari to volunteer, but Janari's logic was always the same – I'm not pretty enough, she would say over and over, and there's no way Garnet would pick me. But eventually, the idea of finding romance began to win her over, and she realized that the ability to move to the Capitol would give her the opportunity to pursue her desired career in a way she might not have been able to in District 2.

Finally, Carissa said to her sister, "Janari, what if I volunteered with you, and promised to protect you in the Games? I could get the other Careers to do the same, and that would keep you safe and alive."

Janari took a deep breath. She knew that the next sentence out of her mouth would alter the course of her life forever.

"Fine. I'll volunteer, but only if Carissa volunteers with me."

* * *

 _Bellona Terminus, 17_

* * *

The morning of the reaping, Bellona woke up with a pit in her stomach.

She'd finally been let out of the Academy the night before to spend one last night at home in Victor's Village before she volunteered, though it would still feel a bit like home after she got to the Capitol; after all, both her brother, Orion, and her grandmother, Enobaria, would be coming with her. But she knew that something would feel different when she got there.

Belle got out of bed and straightened her long black hair to get the frizz out. She then used her curling iron to put a little wave in it, and quickly put on makeup. She then went to her closet and pulled out her favorite crimson dress; despite its ankle-length skirt and sleeves to her elbows, she still felt that it was the dress that showed her off the best. Bellona tried to keep as normal of a routine as she could, despite the fact that she knew that this would be the culmination of something she and her family had been striving for for most of her life.

When she came downstairs for breakfast, her mom greeted her with a plate of pancakes. "Good morning, my little volunteer," she said, giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead. "It feels like just yesterday that you were my little girl starting to train at the Academy, and now you're going to volunteer! I'm so proud of you." Angelica's eyes shone with pride as she stroked her daughter's hair, cherishing these last moments before their lives changed forever.

It was that look of pride in her mother's eyes that had kept Bellona going for years. There had definitely been times when her kindness felt out of place among the much more violent Careers, as well as the fear she felt about them. And there were certainly times when she wondered if the Games were really still necessary. But then her mother would give her that look of genuine love and pride, and it just made Bellona want to train more.

The morning passed by in a blur, and suddenly it was time for Bellona to head over to the square for the reapings. Bellona had to be there early to meet with the other three volunteers and make sure that they all knew the plan; she knew that all of the other tributes would be volunteers, but she didn't know who they were.

When she got to the square, Enobaria was waiting behind the stage with two of the other three volunteers. _Good_ , thought Bellona. _Grandmother would kill me if I was last._ Though the two girls had their backs to Bellona, she immediately recognized them by their matching shades of golden blonde hair. And she was kind of surprised about it. Bellona was fairly friendly with Carissa, and she knew for a fact that Carissa was fourth in the Academy overall. Bellona realized that she had to have vaulted over somebody which, as she thought about it a bit more, began to made sense, as the third girl on the list was seventeen and still had another year of eligibility while Carissa didn't. But the inclusion of the definitely untrained Janari Lovare surprised Bellona even more. She figured that there was a reason that her grandmother was including an untrained tribute, because Two would never do that otherwise; Bellona just didn't understand what that reason could possibly be.

As Bellona arrived, she nodded to acknowledge the sisters; Carissa gave a vocal "Hi!" while Janari responded with a shy wave.

"Hello, Grandmother," Bellona addressed Enobaria in her traditional, formal way. But Enobaria chose to bypass the formalities and give her granddaughter a warm hug for the first time since Belle was little.

"I'm so proud of you today, Belle," she whispered in here year, looking her granddaughter in her bright green eyes. "You have proven yourself to be a fine, honorable young woman, and I am very proud of you."

The two women dropped their embrace and engaged the Lovare sisters in small talk until the fourth volunteer, Vixyn Kearne, approached. Her selection also amazed Bellona; Vixyn was definitely a strong career, but her anger made her much more volatile than anybody else. Vixyn joined the group and nodded to Enobaria in greeting.

"Happy volunteering day, ladies," began the Victor. "I wanted to go over a few last-minute details for today. As you may know, we're the first reaping this year, and so we want to start the process well and smoothly.

"Because we have four girls volunteering this year, we have set up an order for volunteering for the four of you. Carissa will be volunteering first, followed by Janari, then Vixyn, then Bellona. Remember that we DO NOT volunteer until after the escort asks for volunteers. So the name of the tribute will be read, that girl will move up to the stage, and then the escort will ask for volunteers. Please make sure that you do not jump the gun. If one of you are reaped before your turn, let that person and move everyone else back one volunteer slot.

"It is also important to remember that we have a certain degree of decorum and respect that we expect from tributes from District 2. You will be respectful to the escorts, the mentors, and all of the other tributes. We know that not everything in these Games is under our control, more so than usual, and so if things don't go the way you expect them, do not retaliate on Garnet or on any other Selected girl; you will obviously need to kill.

"Now, to discuss your individual mentors. Each of you will be working with one of our mentors in particular. So Janari, you will be paired with Arabelle, who just won two years ago. Bellona will be working with me, Vixyn will be working with Orion Terminus, and Carissa, you will be with Mesa Amura. You will get to talk to them more directly on the train. Are there any questions? No? Good. I will see you on the train in a few hours."

By that point, a crowd had already gathered at the check-in location. In District Two, it wasn't as necessary to attend the Reaping, because the volunteers were already selected. But many people did anyway, to give their tributes a proper send-off. Bellona joined the line to check in, and received many congratulations on her selection as a volunteer. She took them with the humility and honor that had been imparted in her since childhood. The girls got their fingers pricked and then filed off into their sections by age. Bellona found herself next to her closest friend Hylla in the 17-year-olds' section.

"Are you ready?" asked Hylla.

"I don't know. I don't think I can be not ready at this point."

The two fell silent.

The reaping started, as usual, exactly on time. The familiar face of Krysanthi Merlot came onto the stage followed by a new, younger escort, the mayor, and the four Victors who would be acting as mentors. Because there were so many Victors, only those four would be on stage for the Reaping.

The mayor began with the history of Panem and the Hunger Games as usual. Nobody listens. Then she read the list of prior Victors, of which there were many, before introducing Krysanthi, decked out as usual in a dress made out of feathers. Today they were peacock feathers.

"Good morning, District Two, and welcome to the Reaping for the 125th Hunger Games! I would like to introduce our secondary escort for these Games, Petunia Dreynold, who will be supervising any tributes selected by Garnet after they are selected." Petunia received a smattering of applause. "Now, for the drawing of the names. Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

Everything went according to plan. Bellona watched as Krysanthi drew the first name, a twelve-year-old named Quartza, for whom Carissa promptly volunteered. Janari then volunteered for a sixteen-year-old named Diana, and Vixyn for a tiny fifteen-year-old named Gemma. Finally, Bellona steeled herself up for her turn. Krysanthi drew the final slip.

"Hannah Pyx!" As an eighteen-year-old girl approached the stage, Krysanthi asked, "Are there any volunteers for Hannah?"

Bellona took a deep breath. "I volunteer as tribute!" she yelled, approaching the stage from her section.

There was no turning back now.

* * *

 _Carissa Lovare, 18_

* * *

Carissa was hoping that everything would go according to plan.

She certainly wanted to support her sister as much as possible. But she also knew that there was only so much that she could do in a pack with Vixyn in it. And if the other Careers were similar, she didn't know if Janari would stand a chance.

But now, as they were being led into the room for goodbyes, was not the time to think about that.

Carissa and Janari had barely sat down on the couch when they were greeted by their parents, Mirua and Durane.

"We are so proud of you!" exclaimed their father as he embraced Carissa. "You are going to do a phenomenal job in the Games, Carissa."

"Thank you, Daddy."

"And you, Janari, are going to be a wonderful representative of our District in the Selection." Janari nodded and gave her father a hug.

"I'm going to miss you, Daddy," she said, "and you too, Mommy."

"Janari, you're going to be fine. Here, take my necklace. Your father gave it to me once," cooed Mirua, fastening her necklace around her daughter's neck."

"And Carissa," continued their father, "Take my watch. Remember that we are your biggest fans. And keep your sister safe."

"I will, Dad," said Carissa, as she fastened his watch around her wrist. "She won't leave my sight until we get split up."

"Very good."

The family continued to talk for a few minutes, relishing their last few moments together, before the Peacekeepers escorted the parents out and led in the girls' friends. Janari ducked into conversation with her friends Ardi and Sorre, leaving Carissa with her own two friends from training, Dari and Sandiva.

"I can't believe you're doing it!" squealed Sandiva, giving her friend an embrace. "You're gonna kill it. No pun intended."

"It's going to be amazing," replied Carissa. "The glory and the honor will be worth all of the struggle."

Dari interjected, "But what if Garnet selects you?"

"He won't. Janari is in with me. I'm not worried. He'll pick her from Two and leave the other three of us alone."

The three began to talk about the various training strategies of the other girls and how that might help. Carissa wished that she was comfortable enough around other people that she could talk about something other than training, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

When the Peacekeepers came to the room, Ardi, Sorre, Dari, and Sandiva left, but not before Dari asked one last question.

"What if Janari doesn't get selected."

Carissa answered, "I don't even want to think about it."

* * *

 _Vixyn Kearne, 18_

* * *

As Vixyn waited for her family to join her, she anxiously twirled her fiery-red hair and eyed the scars from when she used to cut herself.

She'd intended to make the cutting a demonstration of how words can hurt, but it had escalated so far that it had become dangerous. This led to a lot of scars on her left arm, but she was OK now.

The only people that came to say goodbye to her were also the only ones she wanted to see – her cousin, Ben, who had acted as her father, his girlfriend, Amanda, and her daughters, Alexa and Lilliana. Vixyn was not much of a people person, but these were people who she actually liked. Vixyn gave Ben a tight hug. "You're going to do great, Vixyn," said Ben, as he embraced her back, startled by her sudden show of affection.

"Thank you for volunteering," said Amanda. "We heard about the condition they placed on you."

"Yeah, I wasn't happy, but I've also been training for this for so long. I'm going to be fine," scoffed Vixyn, with a certain edge to her voice.

"You have to control that anger, Vixyn," commanded Ben. "It's not going to get you sponsors."

"I know, but I'll be fine without them. They'll see that I can win!"

"I don't doubt that, but sponsors make it much easier."

Vixyn then turned to the two little girls in the room. "Will you two be good for Ben and Mommy when I'm gone, and stay safe?"

The two nodded. "You're gonna do great, Vixyn!" exclaimed Alexa. Lilliana was too young to know what was going on.

"Do you have a token?" asked Ben. Vixyn held up a pair of emerald earrings that were once her mother's. She'd received them a year and two months ago, on her 17th birthday.

"Good luck," repeated Amanda. Everyone gave Vixyn one last hug as they left the room.

The only other person to come in was Shiera, her only real friend. The two shared a warm, deep embrace.

"What are you going to do out there in the Capitol?"

"I'm going to win," replied Vixyn. "Plain and simple."

"But if he picks you, will you try for love again? I know it didn't go so well the last time."

Neither girl particularly wanted to remember the last boyfriend Vixyn had. Things were going well, until Vixyn found out that he had only asked her out on a dare; her confrontation with him had led to what could only be called a gang rape. The experience led her to put more emphasis on training, and though even she didn't know for sure, it was thought that her edginess and almost perpetual anger was directed at him.

"I don't want to talk about it," said Vyxen through a grimace, her anger bubbling to the surface. Luckily, Shiera was able to calm her down, and the two sat in silence, but one of understanding and love, before the Peacekeepers came to lead Shiera away.

A little while later, Vyxen was driven to the train with the other tributes. They put on brave, smiling faces as they boarded the train with their two escorts and four mentors. The cameras followed them all the way until the doors closed.

"So," said Carissa, "what's next?"

* * *

 **Hey all!**

 **So here's the first Reapings chapter! Thanks to TheEngineeringGames, Lord Zagreus, and Xechasate for these four! I think they were all really fun to write.**

 **Give me your thoughts! What was good? What was bad? What can I do better on?**

 **Which tribute was your favorite? Who intrigued you?**

 **If I wrote your tribute, did I do them justice?**

 **I still need tributes, so please do submit! Please remember that 12-14 year olds are still in the pool.**

 **Thanks for everyone's support!**

 **-goldie031**


	7. District 8 Reapings

_Weave Flasherett, 17_

* * *

Weave woke up early on Reaping Day. But that was normal; she always worked overtime to bring in a little extra money for her family.

It had been three years since her father's death. Weave knew that she would be working as an adult, but she didn't expect to have to do so before finishing school. But the family needed the income, and so Weave had to put her educational goals aside to help her brother succeed.

Weave looked at herself in the only mirror in her house. She saw the same thing she saw every day: a tall girl with brown hair and brown eyes. She was perfectly average in that regard, and Weave was fine with that.

She looked through her meager closet and found the nicest dress she owned, a red dress that went down just to her knees. Weave was just about to leave for her work when she heard an noise behind her. "Weave!" a little voice called out from a pile of sheets.

Though neither wanted to think about it, both Weave and her little brother Loom were fully aware of the fact that they might not be together that night; Loom was fully aware of the implications of the Reaping, though he didn't entirely know where Weave would go if she was picked.

"Yes, little one?"

"Hi." Loom threw his arms around Weave's waist. The two had a moment of pure comfort in each other's arms, an event that rarely happed for Weave. She was always willing to spend time with her baby brother, because there was nobody else with whom she enjoyed spending time more.

"I have to go to work, baby."

"I'll miss you. Are you going to come home before the Reaping?"

"I don't think so. But I'll see you there with mommy, OK?" Loom nodded. "Now get some sleep before school." Weave gave her brother a kiss on his head before making her way to the factory. Many of the girls in District 8 worked in that factory, and so she was joined by a few other teenagers also coming to work early as she made her way over.

Though she arrived late by her standards, she was still early compared to everyone else. Weave took her place at her loom, and began to do what her name would certainly dictate she would do best.

* * *

 _Tistera Leone, 18_

* * *

As she did every morning, Tistera woke up on a mattress on her great aunt's floor.

Tistera didn't have much of a relationship with her great-aunt; she had only been brought to live with her after her parents died to keep her out of the community home. But her great-aunt was quite preoccupied by her own four children, and so Tistera was often left to fend for herself.

But some love would be really nice on Reaping Day.

Tistera knew that she would have to go right from work to the reapings, and so she prepared at that point. She found a grey skirt and a blouse that would have been white if not for all of the smog in her home in District Eight. She quickly tied her hair back with yarn, not even attempting to brush it, because she knew that nothing would control her curly black hair. Tistera checked the time – she was on time, as always – and left to work in the factory.

As she arrived on her floor, her overseer greeted her with his usual harsh glare. "You're late," he growled at her.

"No, I'm not," replied Tistera strongly. "I am exactly on time, as I am every day."

Well, almost every day. There was one time when she was thirteen that she had been late, and so ran in to work, then tripped and hit her head. Her overseer not only didn't let her get help, but forced her to work through the day, then yelled at her very publicly for dripping blood on the cloth that she was making into dresses, embarrassing her in front of everyone. Nobody had dared be late since then, least of all Tistera.

He checked the punch-in clock again. "Fine. But don't be this close to on-time again. I expect you to be early tomorrow, regardless of the implication so today may have."

"Even if I'm reaped?" she snapped back.

He smacked her across the cheek. "Obviously not. Now go and work. I do not expect production to decrease even though today is reaping day."

Tistera took her seat along the assembly line, anger and resentment bubbling up inside her as it did every day. Her overseer was not particularly nice to anybody in the factory, but for some reason, he was especially mean to her. She often felt ready to murder him and take his place – she'd certainly be a better overseer for the other girls – but was in no position to do so, and certainly not on this day or in this setting. So she sat, weaving on her loom as she did every day, waiting until she could really change things.

The girls in the factory remained silent as they worked, because they feared the effects of talking to each other. The one thing linking them together was a sense of nerves. So many of the girls on Tistera's floor were eligible for reaping that day, and they all had the same thought: _I hope it's not me_. Tistera certainly felt the same way; even if her current situation wasn't great, it was certainly better than being dead.

After what seemed like hours of work, the whistle blew indicating that it was time to leave for the Reaping. Tistera knew the drill by now; the girls on each floor lined up by age in two lines, oldest in the front and youngest in the back, and marched from the factory to the reaping, the lower floors leaving first. This way, the kids could return to the factory in an orderly and quick fashion to continue after the reaping. Many parents complained that they couldn't hug their kids after the reaping because they had to go back to work, but Tistera hadn't minded that for a while.

As one of the oldest girls on the floor, Tistera led her line confidently down the stairs and outside. They lined up next to the girls from the floor below them, and the four lines of teenagers marched confidently to the square for the reaping – or at least, as confidently as they could.

When they arrived at the square, the girls divided by age and lined up in front of one of seven Peacekeepers.

"Name?" said the man as Tistera got to the front.

"Tistera Leone." Tistera held out her finger for the man to prick. She winced slightly at the sight of the blood, but it was quickly covered by a band-aid.

Tistera walked to the front-most section with the other eighteen-year-olds. She looked with envy at the boys standing on the outside of the roped-off sections, safe for the year and, for some of them, forever. Tistera couldn't wait to be standing there the next year.

Tistera noticed the mayor mount the stage, followed by two escorts, one of whom she didn't recognize. _Two escorts?_ Tistera thought. _That's new._ Then came the two Victors that would mentor for the year, Neelee Hem, who won the 98th Games, and Rose Web, who won the 111th. Tistera wasn't sure why only the two women were mentoring; though she couldn't clearly remember in her nervous state, she thought that there was at least one more living Victor.

The mayor began with the formalities. Tistera drowned out the readings; she nervously bounced on the balls of her feet and fiddled with one of her curls. She wished they would just get to the drawing of names.

District Eight was lucky that they'd had their current escort, Francesca Twirlawhirl, for a long time. Despite the ditzy sound of her name, she was actually much more understanding than the majority of the escorts from the other Districts; out of all of the reapings Tistera had watched across the Districts, it was only Francesca who had an air of sobriety about her. She introduced the escort standing behind her, Charlemagne Lake, and announced that he would be in charge of the ladies who Garnet selected.

Tistera didn't care.

Finally, Francesca stepped up the bowl and drew the first name.

 _Please not me,_ thought Tistera. _Please not me!_

"Our first tribute," announced Francesca grimly, "is Tistera Leone."

Tistera didn't want to think about what that meant. She flicked her eyes to the ground and slowly approached the stage.

* * *

 _Weave Flasherett, 17_

* * *

She recognized the other girl mostly by her height; Weave was tall, but Tistera was probably two inches taller. And Weave certainly didn't envy her. Nobody wanted to be in that position.

Unlike most years, though, Weave wasn't out of the woods yet.

Francesca drew the next name. "Velvet Lewis."

Weave looked behind her to see a tiny twelve-year-old emerge from the crowd. Before she could reach the stage, though, she was shocked to hear a girl yell, "I volunteer!" She turned to follow the source of the sound, and though she was a little surprised that it came from behind her in the first place, she wasn't surprised when she saw who had yelled.

Silver Flower was pretty well known for being the pied piper of District Eight. She was comfortable around and well-liked by many of the younger kids in the District. It certainly made sense to Weave that she would choose to volunteer in a regular year, but she wasn't sure why Silver did on a special year like this. _Oh well,_ thought Weave. _Not my problem._

Francesca carefully selected a third name from the bowl. "Singer Brocade."

Weave saw a blonde standing just a few people away from her slowly make her way to the stage. It seemed that she was a bit confused, more so than someone would normally be if they were reaped. Weave knew Singer from working in the factory, and she certainly seemed with it, so Weave hoped she hadn't just lost her mind.

Finally, Francesca drew a fourth name. _One more and I'm safe,_ thought Weave.

"Weave Flasherett!"

 _Damn it._

* * *

 _Silver Flower, 16_

* * *

Silver was first greeted by her mother, Gold, and father, Bronze.

"Silver, why did you volunteer?" her mother asked.

"I couldn't let Velvet go into the Games. It wouldn't have been OK for her to die so early in her life."

"But honey," said Bronze, "she might not have gone into the Games. Garnet has input this time. She could have been saved!"

"She's 12. So probably not."

Gold sighed. "Just be smart, darling. Keep your head on your shoulders, and make sure not to get close to anybody. Unless you get picked by Garnet, in which case totally don't worry about it."

"But don't be afraid to pursue Garnet. Remember that he can help you out a lot. Or even help us out too. You can totally get him to like you."

"But he's older than me. You know that could be problematic."

Gold sighed. "Darling, if there's any time to get over that, it's now."

Then the Peacekeeper appeared, tearing the parents away from their only daughter.

Silver's room was then filled with the children of the district. Silver worked in the elementary school, and so was quite familiar with most of the kids. Two immediately found themselves in her lap, two cuddled on her sides, and one began to braid her hair.

"Silver, are you going to come home?" asked one of the little girls.

"I don't know, baby. I hope I can. I'll miss you if I don't."

"Where are you going?" asked the youngest boy in the room.

"Somewhere special. It'll be an adventure for me."

The girl braiding her hair stuck something hard into her scalp. "I made you a flower, Silver. Take it with you!"

"Of course I will, honey."

As some of the littler kids got distracted, and began to talk to each other, Silver found herself across from Velvet. Unlike many of the other kids in the room, Velvet knew what was going to happen. "Thank you," she said. "I don't know what I would do if our positions were reversed. I couldn't leave my family like that."

"Just be responsible for me, OK? Keep the kids safe. I don't know if I'll be back, but you can definitely take on my role. I trust you." Silver embraced the younger girl delicately.

Then the kids went out, and Silver was left alone.

* * *

 _Singer Brocade, 17_

* * *

Singer wasn't entirely sure what to think about the twist for the Games.

On the one hand, going into the Games would certainly not help her out. She had been preparing for a few years to obtain a successful career, and taking the time off for the Games would not help her out in the slightest. She was almost at the stage of being a floor overseer; it would have been just over a year before she got promoted.

But on the other hand, if she did get selected by Garnet, and if she became his wife, he'd be able to provide for her as she pursued her career, and she could shoot for anything she wanted.

So she figured she'd see which way it would go. But she certainly hoped that she wouldn't die.

"Singer!" exclaimed her mother, Indigo, as she ran into the room. Singer hadn't seen her parents much in the year, since she'd moved out to be a bit more independent. But now was one of those times that she just wanted her mother's love.

"Honey, be safe," said her father, Carmine. "We know you can be strong."

"I'll be fine, Mom and Dad," said Singer. "But I think I'm going to miss you."

"You've never said that before."

"Honey," added Indigo, "remember that you can learn things from other people. Alliances are good things to form, and other people can almost definitely help you out. You're not perfect."

Singer shrugged her mother off. "Yeah, yeah. I'll do fine. I can make ropes, so I'll make nooses or something and it'll be great."

"Overconfidence can be brutal, honey. Don't take it for granted that you have an idea of what you would do."

"Make sure not to talk so loudly in the arena – you'll give yourself away. And stay alive," added her father. "We love you and will miss you."

Singer's parents gave her a kiss on each cheek, and then they were gone.

When Singer moved out, she began living in the factory dorms with most of the workers. They had become their own little community, and so when any one of them left, it hurt the whole group. Singer had actually come in to the dorm just before the reaping last year, and she had helped to fill the void that the other girl had left, though nothing could truly do the job.

The girls crowded around Singer, and the oldest spoke the words that each girl in the dorm had learned, in case this situation would arise. "Each girl who has been reaped from our dorm has taken a piece of this cloth with her into the Games. This way, she could remember her friends as she approached what would be one of the most difficult experiences of her life. Here is your piece of the fabric. Don't forget to sign it and decorate it, and when you return to District Eight, alive or dead, it will be added to the quilt with the others from our dorm who have embarked on this journey. We love you, Singer Brocade, and we wish you the best of luck from the bottom of our hearts."

Singer embraced the girl, and said goodbye individually to each and every girl in the room before they were escorted out by the Peacekeepers.

After a little bit, Singer was led out of her room by the Peacekeepers. She held her head up high and put on a brave face as she was led on to the train that would dictate her fate.

* * *

 **Hey friends!**

 **First of all, I want to thank you so much for your support. I was thrilled to get so many positive reviews, and it makes me so happy. The style of the story has been working for me really well, and it's been cool to see your predictions! I won't say too much, but I will say that not all of you are right.**

 **What did you like in this chapter? What can I improve on?**

 **Which tributes did you like?**

 **If I wrote your tribute today, how did you like them?**

 **I still need tributes, so check my profile for those! Remember that younger tributes work for this story, so please don't be afraid to submit them!**

 **I know that I generally update kinda late at night, but that's the easiest way for me to get stuff out. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I can't wait to get some more reapings out later this week or early next week.**

 **Thanks for everything!**

 **-goldie031**


	8. District 4 Reapings

_Pacifica Corwin, 17_

* * *

Pacifica woke up on reaping morning with a pit in her stomach.

It wasn't that she would be totally screwed if she got reaped. On the contrary, Pacifica was second in her age group in the Academy. But her plan was to volunteer next year, when she was eighteen. She'd be moderately screwed in that regard of she got picked by Garnet and had to stay in the Capitol for a while, but she figured that there would be enough time to get back home and train before volunteering.

But there was one major obstacle in the way, and her name was Calytrix.

Caly was the number one girl on the list for the next Games. Pacifica had been training determinedly for her spot. And she knew that her fight with Caly today would be crucial – if she won, or made it close, she might be able to get the spot. And that would be really good.

Pacifica said goodbye to her parents as she and her brother Prow made their way to the Academy. Pacifica knew that Thyra, the chosen volunteer for the year, would be in private training for the morning; Pacifica and Caly also had their own trainers, as they were the top two in their class, but with everyone focused on Thyra, the two had to work under the same trainer, about which neither was particularly happy. But the month's ordeal was finally going to be done, culminating in today's fight.

When Pacifica came into the gym, she saw a girl in there that she recognized, but didn't really know. She walked across the room to her locker and put her bag down, then put her long bronze hair up in its standard high ponytail.

"Well, hello, Pacifica," said a voice from behind her.

"Hello there, Calytrix. Are you ready for this?"

Caly smiled a slightly sadistic smile. "I was born ready."

Their trainer came in. "Ladies, ladies. Calm down. First of all, I wanted to introduce Bonnie to you. She's fifth or sixth in your age group, but she's interested in becoming a trainer, so we're letting her watch you two today. Now. Here are your weapons." She handed the girls foam swords.

"Foam?!" exclaimed Caly.

"Why foam?" added Pacifica. "We're more than capable of fighting with real swords."

"Girls. If one of you gets reaped, we don't want you to get reaped with a huge cut in your leg or anything. We figured that you can't get hurt this way."

"Oh, you'd be surprised!" exclaimed Pacifica, as she charged at Caly, sword held above her head ready for battle.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Set in stance. Ready? Go."

Even though the girls weren't competing for a spot yet, they attacked the fight with no reservations. The two were matching each other parry for parry, thrust for thrust, and blow for blow until their trainer told them to stop.

"Very nice job, ladies. You look very good. Any comments, Bonnie?"

"Yeah, that looked good. Caly, I would say it might be good to put a little more weight on the back foot in the ready stance so that you can put more momentum into it when you push off. It'll help you get moving quicker towards your opponent."

 _Wow,_ thought Pacifica. _She knows what she's talking about. Also, Bonnie didn't have any comments about me, so HA!_

"Good catch, Bonnie. Ladies, you are dismissed for the reaping. You don't need to come back today, but make sure to be ready for individual training tomorrow."

Pacifica didn't quite have enough time to go home before coming back, so she decided instead to change into her black, sleeveless crop top and black-and-red plaid miniskirt at the Academy. She put her training clothes into her locker, laced up her black combat boots, and waited around for a bit before heading to the Reaping.

* * *

 _Thyra Sereno, 18_

* * *

As Thyra left the Academy from her last training session, she knew that she was about to do something pretty dangerous.

Well, not the volunteering part. She knew that being a volunteer for the Games was dangerous. The more dangerous part? Who she would be volunteering with.

Or, in this case, wouldn't.

In District 4, the eldest son in a family took on an apprenticeship with his father to learn his profession, and the eldest daughter took on an apprenticeship with her mother. Thyra was lucky that, even though she was the oldest daughter in her family, her mother was a housewife, and so it wasn't necessary for her to apprentice. Though her parents wanted her to marry a sailor, they understood Thyra's desire to train.

The problem with this system was that there was a much more limited pool of trainees in Four to choose from as volunteers. So there were some years with a plethora volunteers for either or both genders, and some years where there was basically nothing to work with. And a trainee who was on the top of the class in Four would have been considered sixth or seventh in their age in Two. So there were times when a top trainee who would have been considered just above mediocre for Two was younger than 18, and the trainers would decide to hold them back from volunteering for a little while to help them become as good and skilled as they could possibly be. This year, the hold-em-back theory was in full force; after all, a very skilled fighter could end up being selected by Garnet, and then their training would go out the window.

If this had been a normal year, Thyra wouldn't have been worried at all about going into the Games. She was clearly the top trainee, and with as much training as she could possibly have gotten, but she had no idea about the training of her district partners. And that was kind of scary.

Thyra arrived at her home, just off the beach, to get ready for the reapings. She was greeted, as usual, by the chaos that comes with having three younger siblings

"Hi Mom," she said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Are Daddy and Rick still out on the water?"

"Yep, but they'll be home in time for the Reaping. Do you want something to eat, honey?"

"I'll have a piece of salmon."

"You know," mused Hope, as she prepared the fish, "I'm going to support you today, Thyra, but still I don't understand why you want to go into the Games. Why aren't you content to take care of the kids like all of the women in the family before you?"

"I just… I need to do something bigger, Mom. I'm made for more than childcare or sailing. And this is my chance to obtain it."

Ami, Thyra's younger sister, wandered into the kitchen, and took a seat at the table next to Thyra, book in hand as usual. "What are you going to do if Garnet picks you?" asked Ami, nestling her head into Thyra's side.

"I don't know, Ami. I guess we'll have to see how things play out."

Thyra's mom put a plate of salmon in front of her. She quickly ate it and then ran up to get ready. She took a quick shower, and put on a nice blue sundress, a black leather jacket, and sandals. Thyra braided her long red hair on her left side, and put on a bit of mascara to accent her hazel eyes.

When she came back downstairs, she took the time to hug each and every one of her six siblings. Thyra knew that the goodbye time wouldn't be enough to really say goodbye to everyone, so she wanted to make sure that they knew she loved them. Then, the whole clan walked together to the reapings, Thyra carrying Margaery, the youngest in the clan.

"You do good, Tyra?"

"Yeah, I'm going to do well, Margaery. And I'm going to miss you very much." Thyra tickled her baby sister's stomach, and she giggled. "I love you so much, Marg."

"I yuv you too, Tyra." Suddenly, Margaery pointed to something on the beach. "Sell!"

"What?"

"Sell!"

Thyra looked over to her right and saw a pretty shell on the beach. "Do you want me to pick it up?"

"Ya!" Thyra picked up the shell and slipped it in her pocket.

When they arrived at the square, Thyra quickly checked in with her trainer before being pricked by the Peacekeeper. She handed off Marg to her older brother Rickard, then shepherded thirteen-year-old Ami and twelve-year-old Vix to their sections before taking her place at the front of the section of eighteen-year-olds. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the Reaping began.

Like in the other Career districts, Four had the luxury of selecting Victors as they pleased, though they had fewer than One and Two. Thyra understood why Finnick and Annie would have been picked together; the two were the paradigm of love for District Four, and it would certainly be beneficial for the girls who were reaped to learn about love from them. The choice of Amphetrite Lyxx also made sense; she'd helped to bring home Zander Neptune the year before, and Thyra supposed that the others didn't want to mess with a winning formula. But she didn't get why, instead of the other mentor from the year before, Finnick, Four's oldest living Victor, had decided to have Zander mentor. Thyra guessed that they wanted him to learn from three Victors at once instead of just one, but she really had no clue.

After the traditional readings, the escorts stepped forward. Thyra recognized the primary escort, Gallus Van Der Burg, from his work in District Three. The secondary escort, however, was very young, no more than 19. Gallus introduced her to the citizens of Four as Ellis Harpario; her pale skin certainly stood against the tanned masses of Four.

As the primary escort, Gallus was responsible for drawing the names. Thyra took a deep breath, and prepared for the moment that would change the trajectory of her life. She knew that these Games would be a journey for her, and that maybe she could find her purpose through the process.

And if death was that purpose, so be it.

"Our first tribute is Mira Nile!"

 _No it's not,_ thought Thyra.

"I volunteer as tribute!"

* * *

 _Pacifica Corwin, 17_

* * *

Pacifica watched as Thyra confidently made her way to the stage. She admired the older tribute; Pacifica had seen her training before and knew that she was very talented.

 _One down,_ she thought, as the escort drew another name from the bowl.

"Nanami Cascade!"

 _Oh, I remember Nanami_ , thought Brooklyn. The girl cautiously stepped forward from Pacifica's section, looking quite shocked. _She trained for a little while, but stopped a few years ago._

Nanami took her place next to Thyra, who gave her a gentle smile. Nanami's nerves were pretty tangible, but she seemed to be doing decently.

Gallus drew a third name from the bowl. "Bonnie Clearwater!"

Pacifica figured that it would be good for the other two to have someone so competent working with them before the Games. Bonnie definitely seemed to know her stuff, and would be a valuable asset to any team. She also looked calm, which was a good thing for anyone who would be Reaped.

Pacifica was pretty hopeful. There was only one named left, and Pacifica had never taken out any tesserae. So she figured the odds were decently in her favor. But she knew that, if she got reaped, nobody was going to volunteer for her; none of the eighteen-year-old girls were good enough to volunteer, and any girl her age or younger would be dying for her number two Academy spot.

"Pacifica Corwin!"

 _F &%!_

* * *

 _Bonnie Clearwater, 17_

* * *

Bonnie's large family piled in to her goodbye room. She was one of nine children. The youngest, 6-year-old Chrissie, quickly got distracted by the pretty furniture, but the other seven quickly gathered around the oldest child.

"Oh, Bonnie. Why did this have to happen?" exclaimed her twin sister and closest friend, Karina.

Bonnie put her hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, honey. I'm going to be fine. I'm trained, and I know how to train other people. In a worst case scenario, I can just teach someone how to kill me."

Bonnie's mother almost smacked her daughter. "Don't say that! You're definitely going to come back to us, and alive. I know it, honey."

Bonnie then reached out to her little brother Rudy. "Rudy, my man, you gotta be helpful around the house with me gone, OK? You too, Lucy." She then reached out to the triplets, Lily, Michael, and Terry. "You three, don't fight too much, OK? Keep an eye on Marcus and Chrissie for me. And be good siblings."

"What are you going to do if you get picked by Garnet?" asked Lucy, who was just old enough to be reaped.

"I don't know, Lucy. I think that if I've gotten the opportunity to fight, I'm gonna fight. I want to fight. I wouldn't have been able to if it wasn't for the twist, so I'm gonna take the bull by the horns. I hope."

After a few minutes, the Peacekeepers came to take away Bonnie's family. Everyone left but little Chrissie, who threw her arms around her big sister.

"Come back for me, Bonnie."

* * *

 _Nanami Cascade, 17_

* * *

The first group of people to come into Nanami's room were her immediate family: her parents, brothers, and sister.

"Come here, Rosemary," she said, extending her arms to her seven-year-old sister, who was visibly in tears. "I'm going to be fine. I'm going to come home."

"I'm gonna miss you!" sobbed the little one. "You're my friend!"

"I know, Rosemary. But you have Mira and Beck and Sebastian and Kai, and they'll be friends too. And I'll be home very soon. I promise." She tussled her sister's golden blonde hair, the same shade as her own, and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "And be a good girl, OK?" Rosemary nodded.

Sebastian came to his sister's side. "What are you going to do? You're not really trained. And you're dealing with Two Careers."

"Sebastian, I have enough training and I can run, heal, and work with a trident. I think I'll be fine." Nanami didn't know if she would be fine. Normally, she liked being honest, but now was not the time to tell the truth. "You need to be strong, though," she continued. "I need you to take good care of Kai and Rosie while I'm away, OK?"

Sebastian nodded. "I'll be a great big brother for you."

Her mother Cordelia came up to her next. "Ana, honey, be safe. Try to get close to Garnet. It'll be best for your little siblings. And you have some background in training, even though you've stopped. Just remember that we're all here for you, and we love you."

Nanami beckoned to her third sibling, Kai. "And you, my little man, need to be good for mommy, OK? Sebastian is probably going to stop training soon, so you need to make sure to keep going for your safety. OK?" Kai nodded.

Finally, Nanami's father came up close to her, eyes sparkling with tears. "I am so proud of you, baby. I love you no matter what, and you're always going to be my beautiful girl. My little freckled baby girl. And now, you're going to do great in the process of the Games, I know it. You're pretty, you're smart, you'll be fine. I think you need to be careful of your stubbornness, but other than that you should be fine."

"Also, don't forget," interjected her mother, "you don't necessarily know everything. Trust the escorts and the mentors, and let them guide you. You can do it, though."

Nanami cherished her last few moments with her family before they were led out.

Next in were here aunt, uncle, and cousins, Mira and Beck. They all lived together above the bakery that her mom and aunt worked in. Mira and Beck ran to their older cousin and gave her a huge hug. "Hi, babies," said Nanami, rubbing their backs. "How are you doing?"

"I'm scared for you!" exclaimed Beck. "What if you don't come back?!"

"I'll come back. Don't worry. I promise you, Beck, I'll be back."

"What would you have done if I had gone in, and Thyra didn't volunteer?" asked Mira.

"I don't know, Mira. But you probably would have had to work with Garnet with me, and we would have tried to get you to be safe. Let's not think about it, though, because you're fine." Nanami then turned to the adults in the room. "Uncle Triton, Aunt Oceania, keep an eye on my parents for me, OK? I don't want them freaking out."

"We'll try," said Oceania, "but you know this is hard and we have no guarantees."

"Thank you, though," said Nanami.

"Do you have a plan?" asked Triton.

"I want to try to ally with some other kids around my age, maybe not Careers, but I think I'll be able to work with it. I don't know though. I'll have to see who else I have to work with."

"Coming from someone who's worked on this kind of things before, as a trainer and strategist," mused Triton, "I think it'll be good to make some sort of alliance at the beginning and then work from there. Don't be worried to have some people that you get along with, and, honestly, don't be afraid to play both sides there."

A Peacekeeper suddenly appeared at the door.

"Goodbye, Nanami! I love you!" yelled Mira, as the door slammed shut.

Finally, Nanami was barreled over by someone she knew she had to see before she left: her best friend Jordan.

"Ana, Ana, Ana! What am I going to do without you?" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around her friend's neck.

"Calm down, Jordan. I'm gonna be fine. All I need to do is convince Garnet that he really likes me."

"But how are you gonna do that? Don't you think it's gonna be tough fighting with all of those other girls, out for love?"

"To be honest, I don't know if I'll live if I don't get picked."

"Oh, don't say that!" exclaimed Jordan. "You're gonna make me cry. And I can NOT get my makeup messed up."

"It's true, though. I hear rumors that Two's girls are fierce this year. I don't think I could beat them-"

"-unless they turn on themselves. There's always that. You have a bit of training, you're strong, you'll be fine." Nanami's grey-blue eyes met Jordan's hazel ones. "You HAVE to win for me, OK?" begged Jordan. "I know you can. You have to."

A Peacekeeper suddenly appeared at the door. As Jordan was led out, Nanami yelled back, with tears in her eyes, "I'll try!"

Nanami took a moment to calm herself down before being led out to the train. Once they got on, Nanami collapsed into a chair. She fiddled with her necklace that she often wore, one with Rosemary's favorite shell on it.

Nanami hoped that she'd someday see the ocean and the seashells again.

* * *

 **Wow.**

 **I've never seen such universal dislike for one of my characters in the entire time that I've written on FF. Looking back at her, I do understand where that's coming from, but I have a reason why I'm working with her, so just trust me. Plus, I'm still having trouble writing goodbye sections, so I don't really think that I'm portraying them so well, so take that into account too.**

 **Anyway, here are the D4 Reapings! This chapter went up nice and quickly for me, which was great, but that's because I haven't had much work lately, so no promises past this one!**

 **If you check my profile, you'll see the foundation of a tribute list and a list of who submitted which tributes where. I've had so much fun writing for them so far, and I'm so excited to continue!**

 **Which tributes here did you like? Which did you not like?**

 **How'd I do on your tribute, if I wrote her?**

 **Of the 12 we've seen so far, who do you think will ally with whom? Who is Garnet going to pick?**

 **Thank you all so much for your support. I can't wait to hear your thoughts, and I'll see you next chapter!**

 **-goldie031**


	9. District 1 Reapings

_Ravi Waterford, 18_

* * *

"Roundhouse." _WHACK!_ "Palm-heel strike." _WHACK!_ "Forearm block."

"HUH!" Ravi grunted as she fought according to her sensei's instructions. She had been training in Shaolin Kung Fu for years. In District One, though they were many trained kids, they didn't generally train in one central Academy; rather, they trained in smaller Academies in different ways with very different curriculums.

Ravi was naturally drawn to the martial arts, asking her mother at age three to put her into that Academy. She spent most of her younger years in general classes before being drawn to Dragon Style Shaolin Kung Fu. She liked its emphasis on powerful and short movements, but also on defensive action, to help make sure that if she was ever put in a situation, she could keep herself alive. But more than anything, she liked the discipline that she learned from martial arts. One wrong move or motion could totally mess up everything that she had accomplished over the course of the fight; intense years of training taught her that intense discipline was necessary to be successful, and so she had a level of self-control almost unheard of for a girl of her age.

Ravi and her sensei continued to fight. She had already become the best in her Academy, though it was very small, and so she hoped that she could be the best in the Games.

Ravi considered being selected for the Games a great honor. The Victors had screened the top four or five girls in every Academy before picking their four volunteers. Her sensei, Dragon, had agreed.

"Ravi, you will do us proud," he had said, when she received the letter with the news that fateful day at the Academy. "You will show that the best weapon is your body and mind. You don't need anything else. Ravi, you will prove that our Academy has the same potential as the more traditional Academies for victory."

Ravi had replied, "Thank you, Sensei," and bowed to him.

So today, she was doing her final fight before the Reaping. This was the day to make sure that she was completely prepared for the challenges that faced her. Ravi needed to make sure that her form was perfect, and that she could do what she knew well; though she was advanced for her age, many of the more advanced martial arts skills could take decades to matter, so she needed to be able to do what she could very, very well.

After about an hour, Dragon ended the fight. "Very good, Ravi. Let's finish for today with the Diamond Finger technique. You almost have it down."

Ravi had a feeling that today she would finally be able to get it down. And she was right. She spent an hour practicing the technique, and managed to totally nail it within the last fifteen minutes.

"In your training days, Ravi," commanded Dragon, "make sure to review this technique. You will forget it if you don't practice it in the next few days."

After a quick cool-down, Ravi packed up her locker and gear, and gave her instructor a final bow. "Thank you for your training, Dragon. I will make you proud."

"I know you will."

Ravi walked straight from her training to the tattoo parlor. She had asked Dragon to design a tattoo of a dragon for her, to remind her of her training in the Games. Ravi was pretty steeled to pain from her days of training and endurance practice, so she figured that it wouldn't hurt.

When she got to the tattoo parlor, she instructed the tattoo artist to put it on her left upper back, putting the dragon head on her left shoulder. She knew that her training would always have her back, and so wanted to put the tattoo somewhere where she could always remember that. The tattoo artist got out her black ink, and began.

And it did hurt.

A lot.

Once the tattoo artist was done, Ravi went back home and put on a nice white shirt and black pants before heading to the pre-Reaping meeting. Unlike in Two, the four girls from One really didn't know each other at all, because they trained in different Academies, so this meeting was crucial for them to know who the other volunteers were and nudge them in case they zoned out.

When Ravi got to the square, she found that the check-in tables were already set up. Ravi didn't recognize the Peacekeeper stationed there, which was odd; usually, they had experienced Peacekeepers manning the table who knew the kids in the District. "Are you here for the pre-Reaping meeting?" asked the Peacekeeper. Ravi nodded. "Well, congratulations! Let me check you in now and make your life easier. What's your name?"

"Ravi Waterford. I'm 18."

The Peacekeeper flipped through the book. "I don't see a Ravi Waterford in here… Is Ravi your real name?"

"No," muttered Ravi. "It's Swarovski."

* * *

 _Arieyn Occisor, 17_

* * *

Arieyn sat at the table at her Academy, doing final preparations before that day's Reaping.

"Poisonous. Not poisonous. Poisonous unless you use mint as an antidote. VERY poisonous," murmured Arieyn, going through her edible and poisonous plants one last time. Her Academy was mostly traditional – Arieyn was decently skilled at most weapons – but the head trainer there was someone whose specialty when he was training was poison, and so he decided to pass that on to his trainees. After all, it was much harder to deflect poison as a weapon, and equally as difficult to detect.

"Very good, Arieyn. Your memory for this kind of stuff is impeccable. Make sure that the pressure of the Games doesn't make you forget which ones are poisonous. It could be pretty deadly."

Arieyn giggled. "I know," she said. "I've got it covered."

Then, Arieyn took some time to practice making her poison darts. She was pretty skilled in this regard, but knew the importance of doing it right. Then, she took the darts over to the practice zone, where she managed to hit her targets every time, which was pretty impressive, considering that her targets were ants.

At the end of her session, Arieyn's trainer said to her, "Arieyn, one more thing. We got word from the Capitol that they're going to be using I.P. this year."

"Oh, no," said Arieyn. "Really?"

"Yep. You're in pretty good shape with the immunity, but we're sending you with doses for the next week just in case, OK?"

Arieyn nodded.

"Now, go and get ready. Make your academy proud!"

Arieyn took the quick walk back to her house to change for the Games. Her mother greeted her with a hug and a kiss; Arieyn knew that her going into the Games was going to be very difficult for her mother, as they'd already lost her brother to the Games.

"Arieyn, honey, I set out your reaping outfit for you. Let me know if you need any help." Arieyn ran up to her room to find that her mother had set out her least favorite dress. It was dark green, with white lace around the waist and the ends of the sleeves. But she couldn't exactly tell her mom that she wouldn't wear it, especially not on Reaping day when she was volunteering. So Arieyn decided to just grin and bear it and put it on.

She came back downstairs to greet her mother again. "Oh, honey, what are dad and I going to do if we lose you?"

"You won't lose me. I have the knowledge of poison that most other trained girls don't. I'll be fine. And you'll be mentoring me anyway, so I'm sure it'll go well." Arieyn quickly left the house and headed to the square for the pre-Reaping meeting. She knew that her mom had been a very strong mentor until the loss of her brother in the Games, but she hoped that her mother would find the strength to help her this time.

When she arrived, she saw that she was the last one to get there, and picked up her walking speed to meet the other three girls. She gave Gloss a polite smile, and joined the circle of girls already present.

"Hello, ladies. I want to congratulate you on your selection to volunteer! The committee had their work cut out for them, but we're very satisfied with the four of you.

"I want to start by having you all introduce yourselves and your strengths."

The volunteer list had been posted a month before, and Arieyn knew all of the names, but had never met any of them. The first girl to speak was a girl of average height with shoulder-length, straight black hair. "Hi, I'm Ravi, and I have extensive training in martial arts."

Arieyn spoke next. "Hi, I'm Arieyn, and I have training in poison and small projectiles."

"I'm Delilah," added a younger platinum blonde girl with gorgeous green eyes, "and I'm good with a bow-and-arrow, but I'm mostly here for the Selection."

The last girl to speak was a ginger with fiery grey eyes. "I'm Blaze, and I'm skilled with hand-to-hand combat."

"Awesome! It is very important for you to know each other's strengths so that you can help each other out in the Arena as best as you can.

"Now," instructed Gloss. "The plan is for Arieyn to volunteer first, then Delilah, then Ravi, and then Blaze. We heard from Two that they're doing three girls for the Selection and one for the Games, so our plan is to do two for each – Delilah and Blaze for the Selection and Ravi and Arieyn for the Games. But we don't have to worry too much about that right now; the key is to make sure that you volunteer in the right order. Any questions?"

Nobody answered.

"Great. We'll also deal with mentors later today on the train. Good luck, ladies!"

Arieyn quickly checked in and took her place in the section of seventeen-year-old girls. She looked around to find where the others were; Ravi was in the section in front of her, Blaze was in her section, and Delilah was in the section behind her. "You're young to be going into the Games," said Arieyn to Delilah.

"Well, at least I'm going in for the Selection," smiled Delilah. Ainsley was warmed by the grin on the younger girl's face; it looked like something that she always had on her face.

Arieyn became slightly more nervous as the sections filled up. She knew that she would be capable of handling things in the Games, but that didn't stop the butterflies from taking up more and more space as the minutes ticked on. Finally, a bell rang, and the reaping began.

Arieyn noticed the four mentors to come on to the stage. First was Tyranny Bomber, one of the Victors from the last Quell. Then came her mother, and then Effervescence Capek, the Victor from the 113th Games, and one of the best in the District with daggers and crossbows. Finally was Jasper Hematite, who was only 25, but already had a reputation for being one of the most skilled younger mentors, and also one of the nicest.

She also took the time to look at the mentors. Both were new; Glaucus, their primary escort, had been lobbying to go to One for years, and their younger, secondary escort, Ryder, looked like someone who could be moderately helpful. Arieyn was hopeful, but also figured that she'd get more help from her mentors than her escorts anyway.

Finally, it came time to draw names. Arieyn steadied herself at the edge of her section and prepared to meet her fate.

The first name drawn was a fourteen-year-old girl who had just broken her leg in training the day before. The girl didn't even bother making her way up to the stage.

Arieyn stepped out into the aisle and confidently yelled, "I volunteer!" It was time for her to do what her brother could not.

* * *

 _Ravi Waterford, 18_

* * *

Ravi was not in the best mood.

She hated when anybody called her Swarovski. Her mother, Extravagance, had an equally stupid name, and she much preferred the shorter name "Ravi" to any other stupid name that could possibly come from the name of a gemstone.

But this was not the time for anger. This was the time for preparation for the Games.

Ravi watched as Arieyn made her way to the stage. She was a pretty enough girl – darker skinned, black hair, but cold blue eyes. That girl would probably be Ravi's biggest competition of anybody – poison was a dangerous weapon to be good with.

The next name drawn by Glaucus was of a fifteen-year-old. She came to the stage out of respect, but quickly went down after Delilah volunteered. Ravi wasn't sure what to think of Delilah; the bow and arrow was a very odd weapon to be good at, but Ravi felt there was more to that girl than met the eye. Motivation, perhaps?

Finally, it was Ravi's turn to volunteer. She did so with no hesitation, ready for the chance to prove herself in the biggest and most intimidating way possible.

After Ravi made her way to the stage, the fourth name was drawn. But two voices called out to volunteer. That was odd; Ravi knew that the list of volunteers had been up for at least a month. But the rule in One was that the first person to make it up to the stage would be the chosen tribute. And Ravi was not happy when she saw who made it to the stage first.

Because there was no worse person to go into any possible Games situation with than Creddi Grant.

* * *

 _Incredible Grant, 18_

* * *

Creddi felt pretty confident going back into the goodbye rooms.

She was popular and well-liked in District One, so why wouldn't Garnet like her? And if she won his love, she would certainly have the best reputation. She'd wanted to marry a Capitolite for that reason for a few years, and who better than Garnet?

Plus, she had trained in the Academy. Who cared that she hadn't really tried? She didn't have to worry – after all, she definitely would get picked by Garnet.

The first people to greet Creddi were her parents, brother, and sister. Creddi was loved and idolized by her whole family, and knew that she would be successful if they said so.

"Oh, Creddi!" exclaimed her father, but a bit tetatively. "You are going to do your family so proud. We are so excited for you."

"I still don't know why you don't want to be a Victor," added her mother, "but the wife of the President's daughter will certainly suffice. I am so proud of you!"

"You're gonna do great, big sis! And I'm gonna be like you! I can't wait until I can go to my first party." said Henna, her sister.

"You need to be sixteen like I was, Henna. It can be quite dangerous if you don't."

"I'll be fine. Maybe you can take me to one when you come back."

"Maybe."

"Creddi," said her father lovingly, "what are you going to do if Garnet doesn't pick you?"

Creddi scoffed. "I'll be fine. I'm pretty, and I'm rich! Everyone will love me!"

Then, Incredible turned to her younger brother, Wonder. "Hey, baby. Keep up your training. You know how happy Mommy and Daddy will be if you volunteer."

"I know," murmured Wonder. He was much more reserved and different than his sister, and certainly wasn't interested in following in her footsteps.

After a little bit more talking, and a lot more fluffing of Creddi's ego, her parents and siblings were led out of the room. Next to come in were her best friends, Happy and Loyalty. The three enjoyed going to parties and stuff together, though Loyalty referred to go out while she was training during the week.

"Creddi, I am so excited for you!" yelled Loyalty, running up to Incredible and giving her a big hug. "You're gonna kill it with Garnet!" Loyalty had missed out on a spot for this year's Games by two people, and she was more determined than ever to make it to the top the next year.

"Oh, I'm so happy," added Happy. "Creddi, you're gonna party it up in the Capitol and it's gonna be great! Just remember to control your desire to have sex with anything that is willing to have it with you."

"It'll be fine. Plus, what's stopping me from having a little fun while trying to win Garnet's love?" The three girls laughed. They were all incredibly excited for the prospect of their friend becoming the most envied girl in Panem.

* * *

 _Delilah Ainsley, 16_

* * *

Delilah had felt really bad for that fourteen-year-old with the broken leg. She knew all too well how hard it could be to train for something for years and have it all taken away in an instant. Because it had happened to her brother.

Caleb was the top trainee two years ago, and was all set to volunteer before he broke his leg. Suddenly, he had nothing to live for, and turned to drugs to fill the gap. Delilah had been trying to save her brother, but knew that, if she didn't get him real help within a year or two, he'd be dead.

So Delilah wasn't surprised when her parents and her younger brother came into the room without Caleb.

"See, Delilah?" said her father as he came in to the room. "I told you that your years of training would pay off. Now, you'll be going into the Games. And you'll certainly be making your family proud."

"Not unless Garnet picks her," cautioned her mother.

"Well, I suppose I'd be happy either way, Delilah. I know you don't have as many years in training as the others, but still try to get a good score, you know?"

"I know," Delilah replied.

"And if you make it far, you might be able to get help for Caleb. That would be the best thing possible," lamented her mother. "I just miss my son so much! I want him back, and you might be able to get him back for me."

Her father jumped in again. "Also, keep that gorgeous smile on your face. Your happiness will help you get sponsors, and they'll all love you!" Delilah nodded.

Jet then spoke up. "Delilah, I love you so much. I want to train more and more to be just like you! I know that your training is what got you where you are, and you love it so much, and I want to love it more than you do!"

That was exactly what Delilah didn't want to hear.

Jet, the youngest in the family, was also training for the Games. But in training, he became a different person than the younger brother she'd grown up with; he would lose empathy and care for other people. Delilah had hoped that her parents would let Jet stop training, but because he was so much more skilled than the others in his year, it now looked like he was the family's only shot at having a Victor, and so there was no chance of his training ceasing.

As for Delilah herself, she had stopped loving her training a while ago, once she realized that it was preparing her for killing and death. She had to continue because her parents, both trainers, would not let her cease. But now was not the time to argue with Jet or to tell him about that. "Thank you, baby brother. I'm so proud of you too."

Suddenly, everyone started throwing random pieces of advice out at Delilah. She felt a bit overwhelmed by the waves of speech lapping over her.

"Make sure to get your bow and arrow from the Cornucopia, if you can. That would be best. I know you're good at that."

"Keep with the Careers, but remember to stay away when they all start arguing."

"In the tribute parade, make sure to keep a smile on. You need to make a good first impression."

"Don't use a bow and arrow while training – you don't want to show that until the private sessions."

"Meet with the Careers whenever they do – keep your enemies closest!"

"If you get picked by Garnet, don't focus on making friends with other girls! You're there for the prize!"

Delilah was more than happy when her family was led out of the room.

Afterwards, her closest friends, twins Honora and Glory, came into the room. Delilah was much, much closer to Glory than to Honora, but the two kind of came as a package deal.

"What was Creddi thinking?!" exploded Honora. "Blaze was the designated volunteer, and everyone knew that."

"SHH! She might hear you!" Delilah exclaimed.

"I don't care!" replied Honora. "What she did was stupid. Why would she do that when she knew there was a possibility of her going into the Games? That dolled-up party animal is going to get herself killed, and might cost us a victory."

"I don't know," shrugged Delilah. "I know she's not trained at all. She's been in your classes, right, Glory?"

"Yeah," replied Glory. "She's eighteen and in class middle-level with fifteen-year-olds?"

"It shows a lot about her abilities," added Honora.

"Plus," interjected Glory, "didn't she think at all about the impact it would have on Blaze? Blaze has been looking forward to this for a month now! It's gonna screw everything up for next year."

"Guys, guys, guys," cautioned Delilah, "everything will work itself out fine. But yes, I agree, Creddi shouldn't have volunteered."

"But what are you going to do now, Delilah? You're going in for Garnet, right?"

"Yeah. They trust my ability and smile much more than almost everyone else in the district, and I guess they think I'm well trained enough. I guess they picked Blaze because she's pretty? She is drop-dead gorgeous, but I don't think that she's really nice enough to win Garnet over."

"I hope things go your way," mused Glory.

"Especially because, if I go into the Games, I don't know what will happen to me. It's scary."

Honora looked at Delilah. Though the two weren't particularly close, Honora had flashes of niceness towards her older counterpart. This was one of those times. "You'll be fine, Delilah. I have faith in you."

And with that, the two girls left. Delilah looked down at the family picture she held in her hand, that she kept in her pocket every day. She didn't know what she had gotten herself in to, but she had to find a way to save the people she cared most about. And this was it.

* * *

 **Hey everyone!**

 **Here are the D1 Reapings. I know we've seen all of the Careers now, but don't fret – some other strong tributes are on their way as well. And not necessarily in the ways you'd expect** **.**

 **Anyways, let me here the same answers! How'd I do? Who'd you like? Who didn't you like?**

 **The next reapings may take a bit longer to go up. But I'm hoping to get them out soon!**

 **Thanks again for all of your support. I'd be nowhere without you!**

 **-goldie031**


	10. District 6 Reapings

_Ferrari Benz, 15_

* * *

Night fell on District Six.

Ferrari was fully aware that the next day was the reaping. She also knew that she should probably be home with her family, supporting her little sister, Jaguar, through the night before her first reaping.

But there was something about drag racing that Ferrari was in love with – no, addicted to. Those fractions of a second that Ferrari spent riding at hundreds of miles an hour were the best moments of her young life. And she just couldn't get enough.

Ferrari sat behind the wheel of her car. She glanced out the window and eyed her friend Polly in the other car, who gave her a little wink. Ferrari focused on the flag that her other friend, Shif was waving at the end of the track.

One wave.

Two waves.

Three waves.

GO!

Ferrari slammed on the gas pedal, allowing herself to be swept up by the adrenaline coursing through her veins. She traveled the length of the course in half a second, then let out the drag chute on the back of her car to slow down the car.

"I think Ferrari won," yelled Cell, the fourth in their crew, "but I'm not quite sure. Both cars were going too quickly."

"Let's push them back and go again!" yelled Polly. The four friends worked together to push the cars back to the start, then rotated; Polly took the flag, Ferrari watched for the winner, and Shif and Cell got behind the wheels of the cars. The four girls worked together in the dumps of the district, and they often used the parts that didn't seem to fit on any other car on their drag racers.

"Check the cars, Ferrari?" asked Shif. Ferrari obliged, making sure that nothing had fallen off of any of the cars or rendered them unusable in the past race.

"All good."

"Race number 25," announced Polly. "Ready, set, GO!" She quickly dashed out of the way of the incoming cars. As the cars came in, the tire blew on the one Cell was driving.

"Whoops. Didn't catch that one," said Ferrari.

"I guess we have to call it a night," added Shif. "I'll see you in the morning," she finished, a bit tensely. The four all exchanged hugs before heading back to their houses.

When Ferrari arrived at home, she noticed that only one light was on: the light in the room she shared with her sister, Jaguar. Ferrari entered the house quietly and headed up to her room. "Hey, honey. Why are you awake? It's late."

"I can't sleep. I'm too nervous about tomorrow," replied Jaguar, looking up from the book she was reading in her bed.

"Don't worry, honey. Your name is only in there once." Ferrari had taken tesserae a few times, but not enough to be too consequential. Her and her parents all had jobs, helping the family earn enough money to keep their girls from taking too much tesserae; Ferrari had only needed to take one a year to keep them afloat.

"But I still don't wanna leave you. And I don't want you to volunteer if I get picked."

"Here. I brought you a project to take your mind off of the reaping." Ferrari went into her closet and took out a pair of white sneakers and a pack of markers, then held them out to her sister. "Wanna decorate my shows for the reaping tomorrow?"

Jaguar nodded enthusiastically. She immediately grabbed the pink marker and began to draw on the right shoe. "What do you want them to look like?"

"Whatever you want, Jag. I trust you."

After about fifteen minutes, the shoes were done. Jaguar had mainly used pink and blue, and decorated the sneakers with pretty swirls that traveled across the tongues of the shoes. "There you go!"

"Those look very pretty, Jaguar," said Ferrari. "Thank you; I've been meaning to decorate these for a while!"

"You're welcome. I feel better now." Jaguar gave her big sister a hug, then got into bed. Ferrari sat next to her, rubbing her back until she fell asleep.

* * *

 _Danira Muntaner, 16_

* * *

"Next!" exclaimed Danira as she pushed herself out from under a car.

"Hello, Danira. How are you?"

"I'm doing good, Mrs. Exxon. How are you?"

"I'm doing well, thank you. Have you finished the repairs on our vehicle yet?"

Danira got up and went to the counter to check the log-book. As she skimmed through the entries, she sparked up a conversation with the woman. "How are the kids doing?"

"Nervous today, as is natural. My four boys are all safe, but Derek's girlfriend is eligible, and we all hope that she doesn't get picked."

"But she could still come back."

"That's true, and that's what we're hoping."

Danira grabbed a set of keys from the pegboard hanging on the wall. "Here are your keys, and the car is out back. Please be careful of the other cars as you head out."

Mrs. Exxon took the keys from the young girl. "Thank you, darling! Have I paid you yet?"

"Yes. Thank you for coming. Next! Oh, hello, Peacekeeper Geare."

The Peacekeeper gave her a generous smile. "Hello there, Danira. How are you doing on the repairs on the official car?"

"My grandmother is working on it right now. It should be ready for the reaping today. Would you like to see it?"

"Yes, please."

Danira pointed the Head Peacekeeper back towards the outer yard, where her grandmother was working on the car. Danira was technically the apprentice, but as her grandmother's eyesight was not what it used to be, she took most of the jobs; her grandmother only took the important ones, like any Capitol vehicles. "Next!"

Danira turned around, and immediately blushed when she saw the man standing across the counter. "Hello, Carlo."

"Hello, Danira. Can you give my bike a quick polish before the reaping today?"

"Of course," said Danira. "I'm always free to polish your bike." Danira pulled out a rag and began to scrub. "Are you ready for your first reaping in District Six? It must be sort of exciting. It really isn't for us. But it must be cool to be so close to the action." Though Danira was conscious of the increase in the speed of her speech, she couldn't really stop talking; it was something about Carlo being there that made her lose all self-control.

Not that she was all that great at controlling her speech to begin with. She enjoyed conversing with the people who came into and out of the repair shop that she and her grandmother ran, and learned al lot about them as a result.

"Danira, I think you're using the wrong rag," Carlo broke in. Danira looked down and turned the same shade of red as her jumpsuit. Carlo was right; she'd taken her dirty rag instead of the one with polish on it.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Here, I'll fix it." Danira quickly grabbed another rag and cleaned off the bike, then began to work with the correct rag.

"I can see that the nerves about the reaping are getting to you," smiled Carlo.

"Yeah, th-that's it," stuttered Danira.

"Danira!" called her father. "How many more people are left in the shop?"

"Just Carlo. I'm finishing his bike now."

"OK. You need to go get ready for the reaping," he instructed, coming into the shop. "I'll finish it off. Hello, Peacekeeper Carlo."

"Hello, Mr. Muntaner. Your daughter seems sort of nervous for today."

"Isn't that natural?"

Danira took the opportunity to scoot out to her room. She lived with her grandmother, to her parents' dismay, though they all agreed that, if Grandma still wanted to live on her own, she need someone living with her. Danira was also her grandmother's protégée, and both figured that Danira would learn more about repairing cars if she was living with Grandma.

Danira first brushed out her light brown hair and put it back up in its normal ponytail. She usually just put it up quickly and messily, but today decided to make it look actually nice. She looked through her closet for clothes, but decided to forgo the nicer outfits in her closet for a white t-shirt and jeans. Before leaving her room, she took the wooden frog from on top of her dresser and slipped it into her pocket. This was her grandfather's lucky frog; Danira didn't know how much she believed in luck, but it had worked for her for four previous Reaping days, so she hoped it would work one more time.

Danira gave her father and grandmother kisses before leaving for the town square. She checked in and found her place in the section with the other sixteen-year-olds, silently awaiting her fate.

* * *

 _Drenaline Fisher, 18_

* * *

Drenaline stood in the crowd of girls closest to the stage. She was quiet, as usual; she didn't really have an interest in socializing with the other girls. Not for a long time.

Her story sometimes seemed to her like a cliché: a mother and a sister who died in childbirth, and a father who became abusive as a result. But unlike most kids who found themselves in that position, she hadn't changed too much over the six years since the incident. Drenaline had always been quiet and reserved, more interested in sitting by herself and just thinking than being with other people.

Today, then, was a pretty good day for her. Because nobody was super interested in talking to anybody else on Reaping Day.

Drenaline focused her attention to the three Victors on stage, District Six's only four living Victors: Sydnee Leigh, known for her "attack and run" strategy that had often categorized Six's tributes in the Games, the completely incapable Gigi Jefferson, Orris Engine, who managed to kill the last tribute in her Games by simply stabbing her in the back, and Alex McGhee, who was generally disliked by most of Six.

The escorts were equally as odd. The secondary escort, Sugar Willard, was quite short, but clearly very excited about her new job. Levvy, the primary escort, was decorated, as usual in makeup and a very decorated dress. Most of the district was used to his genderqueer nature. It was unclear to many of them, not least of all Drenaline, how exactly he identified, as he didn't tell anyone except the tributes he reaped; none of them had made it back home since he came onto the job four years prior. But he had made it clear that he preferred he/him pronouns, and the district obliged.

Levvy dipped his hand into the large bowl and selected a slip. He brought it back to the microphone and read it out in front of the nervous crowd of ladies.

"Elysia Hall!"

A small girl with her brown hair in a pixie cut slunk her way out of the section of fifteen-year olds. She seemed out of it, as if she was under the influence of something; Drenaline guessed that it was morphine.

Levvy dipped his hand into the bowl a second time. "Ferrari Benz!" Another girl came out of the fifteen-year-olds' section, laughing nervously. Suddenly, it turned into full-blown laughter. The girl – Ferrari – fluffed her chin-length black bob before climbing up the stairs to the stage.

Again, Levvy drew a slip from the bowl of names.

"Danira Muntaner!"

"NO!" exclaimed a girl from the sixteen-year-old section. Drenaline watched as a Peacekeeper helped her to the stage, keeping Danira standing as she continued to trip over her own two feet. "Please, someone volunteer, please," she begged, continuing to do so until she reached the stage and fell down on her knees. "Please…"

Levvy immediately saw that he needed to do something. "Remember, darling, Garnet still has to make his selections. You still have a good shot at being safe." Danira took the cue and began to calm down a little, taking her place with the other two girls who had already been Reaped.

 _Just one name,_ thought Drenaline, _and I'll be safe from the Reaping forever._

"Drenaline Fisher!"

As she slinked her way to the stage, Drenaline really wished she had a needle of morphine to jam in her arm and take her out of the life she'd found herself in.

* * *

 _Elysia Hall, 15_

* * *

The first thought that crossed Elysia's mind when she was Reaped was that she would miss that night's gig.

Elysia had become moderately successful in the nearly non-existent music scene in District Six, and she was expecting to sing at a restaurant that night.

It took her almost until she was led into her goodbye room to realize where she was really going. Into the Games. She felt detached from herself, like it wasn't her that was going to her death. The reality of the situation was that she probably was.

Elysia allowed herself to be sat down on the couch before her first guest was led in. She was thrilled to see Dalton, her coach, mentor, agent, and father figure, come in, and threw herself at him.

"Oh, Elysia," he said, returning her hug. "I was hoping this wouldn't happen. I had a hunch about this since you started doing that morphine."

"Come on," she replied, still slightly dazed. "I did better with the morphine. I became a better singer."

"You did," conceded Dalton. "But you also are so out of it all the time."

"I don't care," she slurred. "It made everything better."

"But now it's going to hurt you." Dalton had to admit that the morphine had made his girl more outgoing at her performances. But a girl addicted to morphine was no match for an Arena.

"Meh!"

"Elysia," instructed Dalton, "you need to use your strengths here. Sing for Garnet. Maybe he'll like you then."

"Meh!"

"You took morphine right before the reaping, didn't you?"

"Yep." Elysia took a deep breath and looked at Dalton. "Thank you for helping me with everything, Dalton. I'm going to miss you."

Then, Dalton was led out of the room. Next, Elysia was greeted by someone with whom she had an unusual relationship.

"Hello, Atlas," said Elysia, eyeing the boy who came in to greet her.

"Hello, Elysia."

An awkward pause followed.

"Well, I guess there's no better time for me to apologize," Atlas murmured, looking down at his feet. "So, I'm sorry for the things I said to you and about you in middle school."

"Apology accepted, I think," replied Elysia, not really wanting to look him in the eye either. She wasn't entirely sure to what degree he had changed; their relationship had been awkward since he'd begun to express interest in working with her and sitting with her during lunch over the past year. But she'd often been fine with sitting alone in the past, so she didn't completely understand why Atlas had suddenly taken to her. And she didn't know if she wanted him to be attracted to her.

"I hope that you'll consider taking this as your token." Atlas handed her a necklace that looked quite expensive. Elysia looked at Atlas, then at the necklace, then at Atlas, then back at the necklace again. She figured that this was one of those times where forgiveness was necessary, and took it from him. "Thank you," he said, and quickly left the room. She slipped the necklace into the pocket of her gray jacket, and promptly forgot about it.

Elysia didn't expect anybody else to visit her. So she was quite surprised when her parents entered the room.

"Though you might have been a mistake, Elysia," said her father, "we couldn't leave without saying goodbye to you. So good luck, and may the odds ever be in your favor."

And with that, the two walked out. That had been about the extent of their relationship towards each other for the past few years.

After a time, Elysia was led out to the train. As it pulled out of the station, and the morning's morphine began to wear off, she suddenly realized what was happening.

 _I am going into the Hunger Games,_ she thought. _And I am probably going to die._

* * *

 **Hey everyone!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I generally hate breaking my own patterns, but there was no better way for me to write for these girls. It still seemed a bit off to me, but that might just be me.**

 **So what do you all think? Who do you like? Who didn't you like? Give me a sense of the ideas you're getting from the girls we've met!**

 **I'm still missing a bunch of tributes, so if you have any ideas for people to submit tributes, please let me know! Up next are the D7 reapings, and then a quick visit back to Garnet and Ruby in the Capitol.**

 **All of your support means the world to me. Thank you all for everything!**

 **Yours,**

 **goldie031**


	11. District 7 Reapings

_Freida Muller, 15_

* * *

Freida enjoyed spending Reaping morning in the forest. There was something really peaceful for her about spending time outside, watching the leaves rustle in the trees as she chopped them down with her axe.

Though she normally worked in the forest, Freida didn't intend to cut down any trees today (not after what happened last time), but it was good for her to work on controlling her anger. It hadn't worked before, but what was to say that it wouldn't work this time? Plus, in a Games situation, it wouldn't be so bad for her to have something she could work with, so she was generally willing to cut down a tree or two for her own safety.

"Nice work with that axe, Freida," said a voice from behind her. She was so surprised that she flung it a little too hard at the tree, and the axe flung out of her hand into a different tree. She turned around to see three of her friends, Elm, Sprig, and Jak. The four could almost always be found together.

"Yeah, be careful or you'll find it in your face," she retorted to her friend.

"Wow, so nice on reaping day," said Jak. "Don't you want to spend some time being nice with your friends?"

"Why make today different than any other?"

Elm took the axe out of the tree and began to chop it into firewood. "Come on, Freida. Let's finish this up and then we can just hang out and stay calm."

Freida grabbed the axe out of Elm's hand and whacked it on the wood. "Not today. You guys aren't eligible for reaping. I am."

"Trust me, Frieda," deadpanned Sprig, "you won't be leafing us any time soon!" Sprig burst out in giggles.

"Very funny," replied Frieda. "Take your laughs back to the mess of a home where you came from."

The four friends continued trading insults and jokes back and forth. They never had any problems with insulting each other, and though it didn't help the social skills they could have had with anyone else, they were fine with it. Meanwhile, they continued chopping wood, eventually amassing a pretty large pile.

"Freida!" lamented Sprig, holding up a particularly thin piece. "I'm getting board. Let's go sell it already so we can relax."

Frieda gave in to her friends. They stacked up the wood and brought it into the district, right to her father's merchant stand. "Hi, Daddy."

"Hello darling!" He gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek. "How'd you do in the woods today?"

"Pretty well. I'm pretty sure it was in the free-cut zone this time."

"Good, because the last time you cut wood it wasn't and we got in big trouble. Thank you boys for helping my little lady out."

"Anytime, sir," replied Elm. "Come on, guys, let's leave them alone before the Reaping." Freida gave each a rare hug, and then Elm led Sprig and Jax away.

"Do you have time to help me out here?"

Freida checked one of the watches her father was selling. "Oh. Gosh. I'm running late."

"OK. I'll definitely see you after the Reaping if I don't see you before then. Maybe after it you'll learn to sew?"

Freida scoffed and shook her head. "Yeah, and Mom'll stop drinking."

"I get it, I get it." Her father gave her a kiss on the top of her head. "I love you. Stay safe."

Freida ran home and threw open the door. "It's too bright!" she groaned. "Cl-cl-close the door!"

"Hello, mother. Where were you last night?" she asked, attempting to sound like she actually cared.

"I was out. Don't worry. Go back to whatever you do."

"Fine, you piece of crap mother," she muttered under her breath. Freida ran up to her room and checked out her outfit. She took a quick glance at her black t-shirt, jeans, and worn-out boots, and decided that it was good enough, even though she had red hairs all over it. She quickly threw her red hair up in a messy knotted bun and ran back out to the reaping.

When she got there, she found that most of the girls had already checked in, making it easy for her to find her way into the section of fifteen-year-olds. Now it was just a matter of waiting.

* * *

 _Euodia Grove, 17_

* * *

"And in conclusion, that is why I believe that you are a little prat," said Euodia, finishing her incredibly productive debate with the mayor's daughter. Both girls were in debate club at school, and while most of their debates were substantive, today's was… certainly not.

"Well, it isn't my fault that your father lost the election for mayor!" exclaimed her opponent, twelve-year-old Pansy Lafe, who proceeded to give the older girl a five-minute shpiel on the extreme integrity involved in the selection of the mayor, and the extreme precautions taken to ensure fairness in the process, and the detailed background checks on the vote counters to make sure that it wasn't rigged.

But Euodia knew that was complete BS. She and her father knew that Mayor Lafe had bribed the officials who were counting votes. But sometimes, arguing in a "He-said-she-said" case as this one was led nowhere. Euodia could see that that was where things were going, and so decided to close the argument and leave before things got more heated.

As Euodia walked back home, she pondered her history in debating. Euodia enjoyed debating, and never had a problem arguing with any she could find. Though she tried to keep it in check if possible, and be as friendly as she could, she was always willing to argue about literally anything. And she figured that that was why the District didn't like her.

And tensions were always high on Reaping Day.

"Hello, Daddy! I'm home!"

"Hi there, Udi. How are you?" The politician Cyprus Grove gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek. He had lost two elections now, and neither he nor his daughter was sure if both losses were manipulated; they were, however, certain that at least one of them was.

"A bit nervous, but good." Reaping day was never a calm day for anyone eligible, and though Euodia fully understood the point of the Hunger Games, she was still quite anxious.

"Go get ready, Euodia. We'll leave when you're ready to go." Euodia made her way up to her room. She debated what to do with her shoulder-length, light brown hair before deciding to put it back in a French braid, as she only did on special occasions. Euodia looked at the makeup on her dresser, and decided that she could do without. Then, she put on a simple, knee-length black dress. Her whole family always wore black on Reaping Day, to mourn the children that would inevitably die.

When she returned downstairs, she was embraced once more by her parents before they left the house together. Euodia made her way confidently towards the town square for the reaping.

As she checked in, Euodia found herself right behind, of all people, Cassia Bark. Cassia and Euodia had been friends, until her argumentative nature took over and broke their friendship apart.

"Good luck today, Euodia," said Cassia curtly, eyeing her former friend.

"Good luck, Cassia."

And with that, the two separated to opposite ends of the seventeen-year-old section.

District Seven considered itself lucky to have five functional and living Victors; this gave them the ability to pick and choose for the Games. So this year, they had selected Johanna, who hadn't missed a year of mentoring in a very long time, Fir Remington, who was one of the strongest non-Career Victors, Peter Rhett, one of the most brutal Victors in a very long time, and Alvin Carthy, the District's most recent Victor and one who was still reeling from the mental effects of his Games.

The escorts, too, were oddly both familiar, as Polina Gafe, the longtime meintor of District Seven, had taken a year off the past year to care for her newborn. This had brought Gigi Latterman into the district, who was a younger girl with an old soul. Now, the two would be tag-teaming, it appeared; though they hadn't decided who would be the primary escort and who would be the secondary escort, Polina had still been selected as the name-drawer because she had more experience in the game.

Polina stepped up to the reaping bowl, which, oddly enough, had been placed right next to the stairs, on the edge of the stage, instead of right next to the microphone. She picked out a slip and very carefully drew a name.

"Euodia Grove!"

As she walked up to the stage, Euodia caught a little smirk on Pansy's face. _Hmm,_ thought Euodia. _How am I going to get myself out of this one?_

* * *

 _Freida Muller, 15_

* * *

Freida watched as Euodia made it up to the stage, already arguing with a Peacekeeper. She knew that Euodia was quite the debater, but she didn't expect her to try to debate her way out of an undeniable selection.

As Polina made her way to the bowl to draw a second name, she tripped, knocking the bowl off of the side of the stage. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed.

"Don't worry," replied Gigi, "we have the backup set of slips. Let's just clean these up."

Freida watched Polina wink at a Peacekeeper, setting into action a squadron of Peacekeepers who quickly cleaned up the slips. She then watched, enthralled, as Euodia took a closer look at the slips, then started making so much of a fuss that she had to be led back to a goodbye room early. _Idiot girl,_ thought Freida. _She's making so much trouble on Reaping Day. I just want to get this over with! What could possibly be this big of a deal?_

"Well, that was exciting!" said Polina. "But we still have three more ladies to meet! Let's get on with the Reaping." Polina drew a second slip from the bowl. "Elizah Klepper!"

Freida recognized the sixteen-year-old girl who came to the stage, because girls with red hair tended to band together. Elizah seemed to be oddly calm for someone who had just been sent to a likely demise.

Polina seemed to be on a time crunch because of the chaos with the slips, so she quickly drew out two slips. "Our third lady is Nadina Spencer!"

"F% &!" yelled a girl, who also came from Elizah's section. She was taller, tallest of the girls who had been reaped so far, and had light brown skin, which posed a contrast to the others in the district, who were generally tan.

Freida was standing all the way on the side of her section, next to the rope. On the other side of that rope were her friends. Frieda grabbed Elm's hand, waiting for the last name of the year to be drawn.

"Freida Muller!"

The smile fell from Sprig's face. Jak began to curse under his breath. Elm's brow began to furrow as he met Freida's gaze. And Freida calmly walked up to the stage, hands jammed in her pocket so they wouldn't tremble, and every curse word she knew running through her head.

Why did it have to be her?!

* * *

 _Elizah Klepper, 16_

* * *

As Elizah waited for her family, she instinctively began to doodle with her finger on the soft fabric of the couch. She had grown up in a moderately wealthy household, but this was the first time that she could actually make patterns in the couch, and she thought that it was really neat.

Elizah was first greeted by her family. She was the fourth of five children, and she felt very blessed to have a positive relationship with all of them.

Maeve, Elizah's mother, gave her daughter a warm embrace. "Oh, baby, you have to convince Garnet to pick you. You have to."

"How could this happen?!" exclaimed Stephen, the oldest in the Klepper clan. "You had no tesserae. There were so many other people with their names in more times than you."

"I can't believe it," added Correy. "I thought we could keep you safe."

Elizah took a deep breath. "I hope I'll be OK," she sighed. "I think that I'd be able to work with Garnet and convince him to help me and pick me."

Kathryn, the youngest in the family, looked to Liza. "Correy and I could be safe next year, and forever, if you get picked. That would be amazing!" Her eyes suddenly shifted from scared to hopeful; her big sister could save her, and she would be forever grateful.

"Honey, you can definitely do this. You're pretty, you're sweet, and you have a talent. Garnet can't not pick you!" exclaimed Janelle, her older sister. "You've got this in the bag."

Elizah turned to her family. "Kathryn, what's that in your pocket?"

"Oh," said Kathryn. "I forgot that I had that in my pocket. I made it for you. For a token." Kathryn held out a piece of wood carved with the letters LK. Elizah took it from her younger sister and turned it over in her hand.

"It's perfect, Kathryn. I love it."

After a few more moments filled of encouraging words and momentary happiness, the Klepper family was led out. "Just remember," said her father as he left the room, "if you get the opportunity to help someone in need, you have to do so. It's what we Kleppers stand for."

Elizah's two closest friends in the district, the Souix twins, came in next to greet her. Elizah shyly waved to Collin before flinging herself on Cassie.

"Oh, Elizah," lamented Cassie, tears bubbling up in her eyes, "What am I going to do without you?"

"You're going to live and be fine. Trust me," she said, channeling hope into her friend. "I know you're going to be just great, and you'll be able to keep an eye on Correy for me." Things had gotten awkward between the two when Correy and Cassie had started dating, but they'd gotten over that.

"Do me a favor though," instructed Cassie. "Selflessness is great in theory, but you and I both know that many other people don't understand selflessness and how valuable it can be. And if you play that card wrong, it could be disastrous for you, and send you into the Games. You need to think of yourself first, for once."

Collin then piped up. "Maybe Garnet will like one of your drawings. You could paint one for him and it'll be really nice. He'll love it, and then you could come back to us.

"Elizah, come back to us."

* * *

 _Nadina Spencer, 16_

* * *

Nadina was ready.

She knew that the Games were risky, and she knew that it could be very dangerous for her to end up in them. But if there was ever a time to flirt to get something out of it she was more than ready to do so.

First to come into the room was her mother, Violet. Nadina was very close with her mother, having spent the first eight years of her life living alone with her in a tiny four-room house. Nadina was born when Violet was just eighteen, a few weeks before Violet's final Reaping day.

"Oh, my baby, my sweet Nadina. What am I going to do now?" asked Violet. "You just have to win for me. That's your only option."

"And what if I get picked by Garnet?" replied Nadina.

"For your siblings' sake, I will be very happy." Violet gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek. "But you need to be careful to stay in control, darling. Maybe cursing wasn't the way to react when you were reaped?"

"OK, please enlighten me. What would you have done otherwise?"

"I don't know, and I'm glad that I've never been in that situation."

After a few more moments spent alone with her mother, the Peacekeepers allowed the rest of the family to come in. Nadina and Violet's lives had certainly improved when Violet met Uriah Spencer nine years ago; now, they were slightly less poor.

Uriah came to sit next to Nadina and stroked her back. "Well, I guess this is what you get for being too daring," he joked, poking Nadina in the side. "In all seriousness, though, I hope everything goes your way and that you come back to us."

Nadina then embraced her step-siblings, Roderick and Sabria. "You two need to stay strong for me, OK. Help Dad and Mom out as best as you can with me gone."

Roderick leaned his head on Nadina's shoulder. "I'm going to miss you."

"Me too," agreed Sabria. "What are we going to do without you?"

"My little clever baby, you're going to need to use your smarts to our advantage. And if I get picked by Garnet, you and Roderick and Lila will be safe, and you can really learn to work in the tree farms."

Then, Nadina beckoned to Lila, the daughter of Uriah and her mother. "Lila, I'm gonna go on an adventure. You need to be good while I'm gone, OK?"

Lila nodded. "Teddy and I are gonna miss you."

"Can I give Teddy a hug?" Nadina attempted to take the bear from Lila's arms to give it a hug too; Lila's teddy bear was once hers, and she wanted to say goodbye to it too, as it wouldn't be her token. But when Nadina pulled on it one too many times, Lila screamed, and Nadina decided it would be best to leave it be.

"Do you have any ideas for your token?" asked Violet. To answer, Nadina held out her wrist, showing her family a bracelet of wooden beads; when Violet and Nadina had taken Uriah's last name, he had given each of them a bracelet of wooden beads.

"That means a lot to me, Nadina," said Uriah, tearing up a little bit. "I am so proud to call you my daughter."

After her family was led out, she waited for a second before her best friend Adeline came in. "Hey there, girl-who's-about-to-win-Garnet's-love!" exclaimed Adeline, tackling Nadina so she fell onto the couch.

"It's going to be so fun!" replied Nadina. "All of the drama and pettiness?"

"THE BEST!" they yelled together, then giggled.

Suddenly, they both noticed the third member of their crew sitting awkwardly in the room. "Oh, hey Ted," said Nadina awkwardly.

"Good luck and goodbye," replied Ted, and an awkward silence followed until Ted escorted himself out.

Nadina immediately snapped back into freak-out mode with Adeline. "So what do you think I'm going to be dealing with?"

"Probably a lot of self-absorbed girls who think they're the s &% and who are convinced that they'll get Garnet. Just follow your heart and you should be fine."

"You think so?"

"Yeah! You'll seem more real than all of those prissy girls. He'll love you."

"Do you think I should try to tone myself down?"

"Nah. He'll like you for who you are. But you should definitely play up the siblings thing. He'll love that you're so passionate about your love for them. And that'll get you through."

"I hope."

Nadina and Adeline chatted for a little while longer about the potential opponents and strategies that could make her seem more appealing. By the time that Adelaide had left the room, she felt fully ready to take on Garnet.

As Nadina was led to the train, she noticed that Euodia had two Peacekeepers flanking her instead of the usual one. _What could that argumentative chick possibly have done to warrant that?_ she thought, as the doors of the train closed behind them.

* * *

 **Hey all!**

 **So what do you think about this chapter? Do you have an answer to Nadina's question?**

 **Who did you like? Who didn't you like? Who will Garnet pick?**

 **If you submitted any tributes, do you see anyone you would want yours to ally with?**

 **I've been planning for the next chapter to be an interlude-type-thing, checking back in with Garnet, but I have no other full districts. So please try to submit – I'm so excited about this story getting off the ground!**

 **Thank you all for your continued support. I don't know what I'd do without you!**

 **-goldie031**


	12. Interlude: The Choices We Make

Garnet sat on his bed, not willing to acknowledge the knock on his door. He knew today was Reaping Day, but he didn't want to have anything to do with the girls that would be fighting for his love.

"Garnet, honey, come on! You need to get ready," begged his mom.

"No! You're making me do something I don't want to do." Garnet had talked to his mother as little as he could in the past few weeks. After all, she had picked the twist.

"Garnet, we've discussed this. I had been very clear that you needed to pick a wife by the time of your eighteenth birthday, and you didn't hold up on your end of the bargain. Just be glad that I'm at least giving you a choice at all."

Garnet was kind of surprised to hear his mother say that. He got out of bed and cracked the door open a little bit, peeking his head out, and said, "What do you mean, at least I gave you a choice?"

"My grandfather, President Snow, arranged my marriage."

Garnet stepped back from the door and let his mother in. She took a seat on his bed, and Garnet sat down next to her. "Tell me the story," commanded Garnet. His mother took a deep breath, and began.

"President Snow was not the type to leave anything to chance. He ruled Panem for almost half a century, and he was extremely meticulous to allow that everything would work out perfectly for him. That led him to have overly autocratic control over the country of Panem. And that extended to every member of his family. He had one daughter, Rose, who married a man named Onyx Emerald, because he was the descendent of a major jewelry producer, and they had me and my three sisters. Amethyst and I were married off to the Wonka twins, Mike and Ike, because President Snow wanted to make sure that he had a good alliance with their father, who was one of the biggest food production companies in Panem. And even when I was acting as President while he was still alive, I was completely under his thumb. He couldn't let anything out of his sight. If he was still alive, you wouldn't have had any say in who you married. I know that it needs to happen, but I'm trying to make your life easier by giving you fewer options than the entirety of the Capitol."

Garnet took a second to think about what his mother said. He had learned about the President in school, but never knew that he was related to the man. "I didn't know that he and I are family."

"I try not to talk about it."

"Was he really that bad of a man?"

"My grandfather stabilized Panem really well. He kept it under a steady rule, and unified much of the country under a common opinion, even if it was dislike for him. And the economy did very well under him."

Garnet looked at his mother. "But have you been a better president than him?"

"I've tried to be. So much of what he's done socially, I've tried to change. I've stopped selling the Victors, and I've stopped controlling their lives so much. I've allowed people to voice opposition to my policies and to the actions of the Capitol, as long as it doesn't escalate to action. I've allowed people who are transgender to be reaped as the gender they want to be, and those who don't identify as a gender to select the one they'd rather be reaped as, and to change it if they so choose. And I've allowed people to elect officials in their own districts more regularly. So I think I've done a better job than him, but it's hard to gauge that; it's not like the President of Panem could ever be really liked."

Ruby snapped herself out of her own musings and self-promotion. "Garnet, listen to me. I want you to let me know if you feel I'm infringing on this process too much. I want this to be your choice; moderated and pared down a bit, but still your choice as much as I can. I don't want to impact which twenty-six girls you pick, even if I have a semi-legitimate reason for wanting you to choose one. This is for your wife, and I want you to follow your gut."

Garnet nodded. Though he felt like he understood where his mother was coming from a bit more now, he still wasn't sure what he thought about the fact that the future of his love life was in the hands of 52 girls that he didn't even know yet.

"I'll let you get ready for the recap tonight. While I hate to force an outfit on you, I'd appreciate it if you'd wear that handsome read bowtie and cummerbund. People love it when you wear outfits that play on your name."

* * *

As Ruby left Garnet's room, she saw Amethyst standing right outside. Normally, on Reaping day especially, the two stayed separate; Ruby wanted to wait to see any Reapings until the recap played that night, and Amethyst needed to start figuring out if there were any changes she needed to make to the Arena to handle the tributes. So for Amethyst to be not only out of the Gamemakers' Center, but to be in Ruby's suite, something must have gone horribly wrong. "What happened?" glared Ruby.

"Just… just come down and watch with me. You're going to want to see this."

* * *

One of the ways that Ruby had distinguished herself from her predecessor was that she had vowed never to rig a reaping for a tribute. She knew that President Snow had done so in the past, and had (pretty unsuccessfully) tried to hide it from the people; Ruby, on the other hand, felt that it was important to have complete integrity in her actions, and so had a completely impartial group of people prepare the slips in the Capitol before sending them out to the Districts.

But, Ruby was not against rigging the Reapings against a certain potential tribute. She would instruct the committee to replace their slips with blank slips, which the escorts knew to look for; after all, having a more full reaping bowl looked better for TV anyway.

So as Ruby watched the escort read the name Euodia Grove off of a slip, she knew that something had gone wrong.

"Amethyst, you had the slips inspected before they were sent off, right?" asked Ruby, watching the girl approach the stage.

"Yeah, that's Lavender's job, and I lie-detected her on all of the districts, as is protocol. Everything seemed normal."

"So something must have happened in between here and when the slips got to Seven."

One of the most experienced and skilled Gamemakers, Sami Rolo, approached the station where they were sitting. "What's the big deal about Euodia being reaped? She doesn't look too different than any other potential tribute."

Ruby sighed. While she didn't quite feel like explaining this, she knew she could at least trust Sami. "Euodia's father is one of the most pro-Capitol mayors in the Districts – actually, he was the only one from the last round of elections to be fully pro-Capitol. But his opponent, who won, is very anti-Capitol…"

"That might do it," said Amethyst.

"Well, Mayor Lafe is certainly not going to like what happens when he finds out that I know about this."

"But what are we going to do about Euodia? Cyprus isn't going to be happy if Euodia dies, and it could turn him against the Capitol, which would suck."

Ruby thought for a sec. _Damn it! I just told Garnet that I wasn't going to force him to pick anybody, but that would be a really good way to make sure that Euodia at least stayed alive._ "I don't know, Amethyst. But suffice it to say that it would be a real shame if anything were to happen to her in the Arena because of your mutts or pods."

* * *

 **Well, you all guessed it – Euodia's reaping was rigged. I tried to be a little more subtle about it, but it didn't work so well. Maybe you've just read enough stories to notice it easily? Either way, I hope you didn't see it happening like this!**

 **I can't wait to see you back here for the next reaping chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed!**

 **-goldie031**


	13. District 9 Reapings

_Dania Kesten, 16_

* * *

Dania looked out her window at the miles and miles of wheat fields that characterized her life in District 9. It was one of her longings to see beyond the wheat fields. She often thought about the day, when she would be safe, and she could journey and travel as she pleased. Someday, she'd see the tall mountains of District Two, the wide seas of District Four, and the gorgeous forests of District Seven.

As she looked out the window, she saw a familiar six-foot-one figure moving towards her house. Dania took the first book she saw, yelled, "Mom! Dad! I'm going to a friend's to study!" and ran outside, giving her girlfriend a warm embrace and kiss on the lips.

"Hi, baby," Kylis said, returning the hug from her partner. "How are you?"

"Good." Dania looked at her girlfriend, her dark brown eyes sparkling with love and happiness, before burying her head in Kylis's neck again.

Dania and Kylis journeyed to their special spot in the wheat fields; it was close enough to Dania's house that she could hear her mother call for her or see when the lights turned off, but far enough away that the adults couldn't see them. Kylis sat down, and Dania put her head in her girlfriend's lap. "You still smell like cigarettes," criticized Dania. "Why don't you stop smoking? It's so much better for you."

"But it helps me cope with things. You know it does."

"I know. But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Dania closed her eyes and listened to Kylis's breathing. The two began to inhale and exhale at the same time – in, out, in, out, in, out. Dania was lulled almost to sleep by it, until the reality of the next day's impending doom hit her. "Is everything going to be OK tomorrow, Kylis?" said Dania, suddenly opening her eyes.

Kylis, Dania's senior by two years, stroked the younger girl's long, light brown hair. "I hope it will, honey."

The younger girl fell silent again. It was moments like this, Dania's head on Kylis's lap looking up at the sky, that made the two feet happiest. Dania felt comfortable again; tomorrow might be dangerous, but for today she was safe.

"Do you have any studying to do tonight?"

Dania sighed. "According to my parents, I always have studying to do. But I don't want to tonight – none of my teachers assigned work for tomorrow because of the Reaping."

"But you still have a book with you." Kylis took the textbook Dania had with her off of her stomach. " _Wheat Chemistry_ ," she read. "Scintillating."

"I always have a book." Dania snatched the textbook out of her girlfriend's hand. "And I am interested in this. The more I learn while I'm here, the more likely I can travel when I grow up. That's what Mom and Dad say."

"After you're safe from the Reapings."

"Yeah." Dania fell quiet again, looking up at the stars. She loved the summer nights where she lived, in the southernmost part of the district, because the stars were so clear. It was one of her dreams to see the stars from anywhere else.

The night passed quickly, Dania more than thrilled to be with her girlfriend. Suddenly, she noticed the lights go off in the little house a few yards a way. "Oh, Mom and Dad will be mad if I'm out much later."

"Then you should go," said Kylis, helping Dania sit up before standing up to help the younger girl stand. "When are you going to tell them about us?"

Dania shrugged. "When the time is right." She gave her girlfriend a passionate kiss on the lips. "I love you."

"Me too."

"Will you ever say it?" Dania asked impatiently.

"I will when I'm ready." And with that, Dania watched the love of her life walk away through the wheat field, longing for the moment that they could share an embrace once again.

* * *

 _Melvina Crusoe, 17_

* * *

As Melvina woke up on Reaping Day, she noticed that it was sunny. Most years, she couldn't understand why it was sunny, but that year, she knew that it meant something good. Because the lives of a lot of girls were about to change forever. She wasn't entirely sure, however, if she wanted to be in that bunch.

On the one hand, getting reaped today meant that she would have a one in two chance of going into the Games, and probably to her death. But on the other hand, this could be the chance to finally find The One.

As Melvina sat in front of her mirror to prepare for the reaping, she began to reminisce about the past relationships she'd had. She put her writing notebook to her right, to make sure that, if she remembered anything she hadn't already written, she could easily write it down to include it in the book she was planning to write.

 _Hmm… Oh, there was Jorge,_ thought Melvina, as she brushed the knots out of her black curly hair. _He was the first guy I had sex with._ Then, she took her black eyeliner out of her makeup bag, and put a little bit on, to accentuate her dark brown eyes. _Then there was Jeffrey. I was engaged to him until I found out that he was cheating on me with his second cousin._ Finally, Melvina pulled out a pretty, light blue dress from her closet. _And Lydia. Even though we were only 13, she's the person for whom I think I've felt the purest love._ Melvina paired the dress with a navy blue sash and simple sandals, then headed downstairs to greet her family.

"Good morning, Melvina," said her father, giving her a kiss on the top of her head.

"Good morning, Daddy. Off to work?"

"Yup. Factory days don't stop just because of the Reaping! Good luck today, darling. I love you." And with that, Ishmael was off, ready to work to provide for his family.

Immediately after Ishmael left, his wife, Zena, came downstairs. "Don't you usually leave with Dad?" asked Melvina, waiting for her mom's kiss on the head as well.

"I was running a bit late this morning. I overslept." Zena smiled at her daughter. "I'll probably be able to come to the Reapings today, but I'm not sure if Dad will. But I have faith that you'll be fine, honey. I love you."

As Melvina ate breakfast, she heard a knock at the door. She ran to it and opened it to see her brother, Ahab, and his girlfriend, Jillian, who had been engaged for three months and dating for four years prior to that. They were an example for Melvina of real love, and she hoped to emulate it someday in her own life.

"Hello, Ahab."

"Hi, Melvina." He sat down at the table by his sister, and Jillian sat next to him. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit nervous. But that's natural."

"Yeah." Melvina spent a bit of time talking with Ahab, because she was helping him plan the wedding. She worked with Jillian for a little while (Ahab was a wonderful older brother but a useless wedding planner) before leaving with them to go to the Reapings.

Melvina lived in one of the two main cities in the district, aptly named North City and South City. Each of the cities had a town square, so while it didn't take long for Melvina to get to the town square, she felt bad for the rural kids on the edge of the District who had to travel for a long time to get to one city or another, only to either travel back to their homes or get sent to their deaths. She knew that the other square was the one where all of the action would be happening, though, so if things were running late in the south, they wouldn't necessarily know about it up north.

Melvina stepped up to the table to have her finger pricked. She knew that, as the device scanned her blood, it would register on the devices of the Peacekeepers in South City that she had checked in in North City. Then, she took her place among the other seventeen-year-old girls and looked up at the small stage, noticing the seal of Panem on the screen, which indicated that nothing was starting yet; once the Reapings started in South City, the events down there would be broadcast out here.

When it came time for the Reapings to begin, a woman wearing an oddly simple dress for a Capitol woman came onto the stage. "Hello, everyone. My name is Boebette Crete, and I am this year's secondary escort; our primary escort, Kronos, is in South City drawing the names as usual. They are having a slight delay down there, so please be patient as they sort it out."

Melvina waited anxiously, hoping that things would go OK for her. She didn't know what the next few moments would hold, but she hoped everything would work out for herself.

* * *

 _Kylis Divola, 18_

* * *

Waking up on Reaping day was Kylis's least favorite thing. She knew that, every year, there was more and more of a chance that she would be selected to go to her death; though she certainly hadn't taken out the most tesserae of anyone in her district, she was still uncomfortable with the twelve slips of paper, Kylis Divola written on them in nice, neat handwriting.

"Good morning, Kylis."

"Good morning, Mommy," said Kylis, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek. Kylis and Sara, her mother, were very close friends, as they'd spent much of Kylis's life alone together in their house.

"Are you ready for today?"

"Am I ever?" Kylis snapped back.

Sara sighed, and rubbed her daughter's back. "Up and atem, darling. We have a long way to go to get to the town square. Then we don't have to go again for a long time."

Kylis got out of bed and threw on an outfit, a green t-shirt, black jeans and a black leather jacket, and a pair of boots. She quickly brushed out her long brown hair and joined her mom on the hay wagon that would take them and a group of other people to South City.

As the hay wagon traveled down the path, more and more other wagons linked on to the caravan of people journeying towards South City. Kylis watched as the caravan got longer and longer behind her, wagons and wagons of people praying to make the return journey home as a full family.

When Kylis arrived at the square in South City, she got her finger pricked and made her way to the front-most section. Kylis remembered standing in the back sections as a little girl, hoping to stand in the front section. Kylis took out the pack of cigarettes she always kept in her back pocket and pulled one out, beginning to smoke it.

"Excuse me, Kylis," said one of the girls standing around her, "but can you not smoke? I'm afraid that my asthma will act up."

"I will smoke if I WANT to, because this is my life and not yours!" exclaimed Kylis, gearing up to punch the other girl before realizing that today, of all days, would not be the best day to get in a fight with someone else; Kylis wasn't the biggest fan of other people, but she really didn't like Peacekeepers. She took another puff of the cigarette to calm herself down.

Kylis turned around to look for her girlfriend. She found Dania in the crowd; she looked as pretty as ever in her blue dress. Kylis still didn't know what she did to deserve Dania; after all, the sweet, little, sixteen-year-old wouldn't normally gravitate to a girl two years her elder with a temper and a penchant for smoking. Dania gave Kylis a shy little wave.

Before the Reapings formally started, Kylis saw the mentors come up onto the stage. District Nine had four mentors: the Sheaf twins, Sarah and Sophie, who somehow both managed to win their Games, Riker Mannison, who was comparatively new at the mentoring thing and had yet to bring a tribute home, and Durum Bundon, who was a long-time mentor but was so notoriously unhelpful that they actually kept him away from the Fourth Quell tributes to give them a chance because there were so many younglings.

It took a while for the Reapings to actually start, but Kylis knew exactly when they did, because Kronos Taitos, the escort, was quite noticeable when he came onto the stage. he was relatively new on the escort scene, but was notable for his gladiator-like fashion sense.

Kronos drew the first name from the bowl. But before he could read the name, a voice called out clearly, "I volunteer as tribute!"

Kylis saw on the screen displaying the scene in North City that a shorter girl with long, dark brown curly hair made her way to the stage. The girl, wearing a white dress with a grey cardigan and grey flats, introduced herself to Kronos as Cayman Rye. It was odd to Kylis that the sixteen-year-old seemed to be planning to volunteer, ass he said her name to the escort very confidently.

The escort drew another name from the bowl. "Melvina Crusoe," read Kronos. The camera in North City again panned to a girl, this time in the section of seventeen-year-olds. The girl looked like she was freaking out, but somehow sort of retained her cool and made her way to the smaller stage in North City.

Kylis had a feeling that the next name drawn would come from the girls waiting in South City, and unfortunately, she was right. Hearing her name come out of Kronos's mouth made her angrier than ever. She clenched her fists and pushed out to the aisle from the middle of her section, likely shoving girls out of her way, though she didn't really care. When she got to the stage, she remained tight, not acknowledging any of the escort's attempts to talk to her.

As Kronos drew the last name, Kylis wondered if there was anything worse than going into the Hunger Games.

"I volunteer as tribute!" heard Kylis, looking out into the crowd to see who had said those words. And when she placed the voice with the body, she immediately knew that she was wrong. There was one thing worse than going into the Games.

Going into the Games with one's girlfriend.

* * *

 _Cayman Rye, 16_

* * *

Cayman was led back into her goodbye room by Petal. She didn't know exactly what the rooms looked like over in South City, but now she figured that she'd find out; she thought that they were at least a bit smaller.

The first group of people to come in to her room were her parents and siblings. She held her arms out for the twins, Sirene and Noah, who immediately gave her a tight embrace.

"Cayman!" said her mother, Eliza. "Why did you do that?"

"I need a new start, Mom. And this could be my best bet. Plus, if I get picked, Sirene and Noah are safe forever. Imagine how much easier your lives would be if you knew they were safe."

"But what will we do if Garnet doesn't pick you?" said her father, Marcus. "We can't afford to lose you!"

"Did I have another choice?" asked Cayman. The room fell silent.

"Cayman, what am I going to do without you?" asked Noah, the younger of the twins by two minutes, as Sirene incessantly liked to remind him.

"You're gonna help Mommy and Daddy in the fields like you usually do. You might need to help a bit more and be the big strong man that you can be, OK?"

Noah nodded. "I'm gonna be the best little brother, just for you."

"And Sirene, you need to be a good big sister, OK? I'm going to do the best that I can to come back to you, but if I don't, you become the oldest. And that is very important." Sirene looked at her sister and gave Cayman another huge embrace.

Marcus looked at his daughter and sized her up. "You're probably not going to be able to handle too many weapons, but try to find one, if you can. Maybe something light? Knives? And if not, take a stab at the scythe."

"Pun intended?" asked Cayman.

Marcus gave her a sly little smile. "Nope, no pun intended. Very funny, honey."

Finally, Eliza approached her daughter, and gave her a big hug and a kiss on the head. "Do whatever you can to come back, OK, honey?" Suddenly, she burst into tears. "Come back to me. Just come back. Come back!"

Eliza became so hysterical that she had to be led out by the Peacekeepers. Cayman gave another hug to each other member of her family before they were led out to follow their mother.

Then, Eliza was greeted by her two friends, Jaxxon and Henley. The three weren't very well liked among the other kids in their area of Nine, but they had each other, and that's what mattered.

"Cayman, be careful out there in the Arena, OK?" said Jaxxon. "You can totally stick it to them and win!"

"Yeah," said Henley. "You go in there and murder the competition!" He stopped and thought for a second. "Maybe that wasn't the best way to phrase that."

Cayman giggled. "Just let me at them if I go into the Games. I'll be able to get through them if it kills me."

"I'm glad you have a sense of humor here, Cay," added Henley.

"You just need to be a bit careful, though," said Jaxxon. "If you say something wrong and Garnet doesn't like you, you're gone."

"I'll be fine. My interview will go well, and I hope Garnet likes me. And if not, I'll fight until the end."

Cayman listened to Jaxxon and Henley and their occasionally misguided advice. She knew they meant well, though they couldn't always express it correctly.

Just as they were about to leave, Jaxxon turned to her and said, "Max is outside. Do you want me to send him in?"

"Absolutely not. I don't want to see him at all." And with that, her two closest friends were gone.

Cayman expected to be waiting for a little bit before leaving for the train. But she didn't expect to be waiting for thirty minutes. Cayman didn't understand how someone could possibly have so many volunteers; she sure didn't, but she did want to know what that other girl had done to get so many supporters.

Finally, after what seemed like a very long wait, Melvina and Cayman were taken to a car to drive to the train station in the center of the district. Cayman watched the wheat fields pass her by, for what she hoped was the last time.

* * *

 **Hey friends!**

 **First of all, thank you so much for your support for this story! It's been so great to read your reviews! Know that the reviews still showed up in my email even though they didn't appear on the site, so don't worry about it in the likely event that it happens again.**

 **In other great news, the story is now closed! Yay! I got my last tribute today (with the exception of a few plot driving characters), and so I'm excited to plow through the rest of the Reapings!**

 **So what did you think of these tributes? We still have a bit to learn with a few of the tributes in this set, which we'll see later on. Who'd you like? Who didn't you like? Who do you think is going to the Selection, and who to the Games?**

 **Leave your reviews down below, and I can't wait to read them and see you next chapter!**

 **-goldie031**


	14. District 12 Reapings

_Brooklyn Cherry, 12_

* * *

Brooklyn bounded down the streets of the merchant section of District Twelve. She lived in the poorest area of the merchant class's dwellings, just a half-step above those in the Seam, but she never felt poor; rather, she felt a wealth of love and happiness, because her brother was there.

"Hey Brooklyn!" said her brother, Noah, giving her a warm embrace. "How was your day?"

"It was good," she said. "How was yours?"

"I had a good day, too." Noah ushered his younger sister inside and set her up at a table to start her homework. "Do you need any help, baby?"

"No, I got it!" Brooklyn never wanted help with her homework. She often didn't finish it as a result, because she lacked the interest to focus, but she never wanted the help. Noah usually let her be, because he had to run the household and work to provide for him and his sister; their mother, a merchant-class woman who had established this home, had died in childbirth, and their father had died in a coal mining accident just a few months before. Their mother had left that home to Noah in her will provided that he adopt his younger sister out of the orphanage where they had both been placed. And he obliged. While they didn't have many possessions, they were both grateful to have a roof over their heads, and to have the support of one another.

The evening passed on like any other. Brooklyn finished her work after a lot of daydreaming, and could have done so in half the time if she had focused. Then she had dinner with Noah before going to bed.

"Good night, Brooklyn," he said, as he tucked her in. "I'll see you tomorrow."

 _Tomorrow._

 _What's tomorrow?_

 _The Reaping._

Suddenly, all of her tiredness disappeared. She was wide awake, staring up at the ceiling, unsure of her fate at all. The fear that she so often tried to resist penetrated her brain, pulsing in her thoughts; _what if I am reaped what if I am reaped what if I get reaped what do it do what do I do what do I do._

The hours ticked on. Brooklyn didn't want to wake her brother up, but she knew she needed to sleep, and so allowed herself to go to Noah's room to wake him up. "Noah?" she whispered, shaking her brother awake.

"Mm?" groaned Noah.

"I can't sleep. Can we go on a walk?"

Noah thought for a second. "Aren't you scared to go outside at night?"

"I'm not scared."

"OK," Noah conceded, getting out of bed and quickly getting dressed. "But we're going to stay in the merchant class area. It's much safter."

Noah escorted his younger sister out of the house. As they walked down the lane, Noah was careful to keep his sister in a place where she could be safe. He knew he couldn't protect her from the Reapings, but he could at least try to protect her from anything else.

Suddenly, two men jumped out at Noah and Brooklyn, holding knives. "Give us everything you have!" exclaimed one of them.

Noah instinctively shoved his sister behind his body. At only four foot seven, she could easily fit behind her brother's much larger frame. "We have nothing. Just the clothes on our backs."

"I call bull," replied the man. "Don't make me search you."

"You don't have to. We have nothing!"

"I don't believe you. Step aside."

"NO!"

The man lunged at Noah to search him. And neither man would ever know if the knife he held was supposed to go into Noah's gut. It stopped just centimeters from Brooklyn's head.

"NOAH!" screamed Brooklyn as the two men ran away. She bent down to her brother. "Somebody help him! Please!"

Luckily for Brooklyn, a merchant class woman who had known her mother came out of her house and helped her bring Noah to a healer. The little girl stayed up all night by Noah's side, until he took his last breath in the wee hours of the morning.

* * *

 _Douria Hovello, 14_

* * *

As Douria got ready on Reaping morning, she heard her father call for her from another room. "What's the problem, Daddy?"

"Can you please get me a drink of water?"

Douria obliged, getting her father a small cup of water from the main room in their house. She brought it into the room her father and brother shared.

"Thank you, honey," he said, giving his daughter a kiss on the cheek. She nodded and returned to her room to get ready.

Douria quickly put on a dirty black blouse and worn-out blue denim skirt. She was lucky that her hair had a nice natural curl, so she wouldn't have to do anything to it, but she sometimes wished that her skin was less pale, so that she would fit in with the rest of the people in the Seam.

"Daddy, I'm going out, OK?"

"OK," he said. "Be careful! I love you!"

Douria left her tiny dwelling in the Seam. She hadn't seen her brother yet that morning, as he was the sole provider for the family and therefore worked sixteen hours a day in the mines. Their mother had died after a severe case of the flu seven years prior – it wasn't unusual at all for kids in Twelve to be missing one or both parents – and their father couldn't work because of an accident just days before Douria's first Reaping. So it was up to Tyran, who was just nineteen, to provide for the family. Douria wasn't quite old enough to work yet, or even to fake her age to make her old enough to work, so it all fell on Tyran.

Douria made her way to the Hob, as she did most mornings. She found the stand she was looking for, and, looking around to check for other people, gave a passionate kiss to the girl behind the table.

"Good morning, Mara."

"Good morning. How are you feeling?"

"Nervous as usual. But who isn't?"

Mara nodded and wrapped her girlfriend in a warm embrace. "You'll be fine. This is your first year taking tesserae, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Tyran didn't let me as long as he was eligible. So there are now five slips with my name on it in the bowl. But I was ready to take more."

"You're going to be fine. Trust me. It'll all work out."

Thw two girls helped out at Mara's sister's stand in the Hob, as they did most days. "Where is your sister?" asked Douria.

"Probably going to find more stuff to sell. That's where she normally is."

"Have you told her yet?"

"No."

"Good."

Douria and Mara had mastered the art of keeping their relationship secret. To most of the people in Twelve, they seemed like very close friends, but they were looking forward to the day after Douria's last Reaping, when they could really be free to love each other.

The Reaping in Twelve was just after lunch that year, so Douria gave Mara a goodbye hug and headed home to have lunch; as they were two years apart, Douria had no clue if she would see her girlfriend before the Reaping. When she got home, she found that Tyran had just returned from the mines; Douria helped him prepare a quick lunch of her favorite food, groosling soup, and they helped her father to the table to eat. Then, Tyran helped his father make his way towards the town square, Douria following behind. She felt bad that her family didn't know about Mara; though she wanted to tell them, she didn't want to disappoint her father.

When she got to the town square, she got her finger pricked and found a spot within the fourteen-year-old girls, anxiously awaiting her fate.

* * *

 _Millicent Jones, 13_

* * *

Millicent's cough woke her up in the morning. She felt sick, as usual, but knew that, for the sake of her family, she needed to get up and work again.

"Millicent! Can you get me water?" yelled Maggie, her older sister.

"Millicent! I need breakfast!" called her father. And so, Millicent began her daily routine of taking care of her family. Her family was always sick, it seemed; like so many other kids in Twelve, Millicent was missing her mother, who had died in a mining accident. It sometimes seemed to Millicent like she did everything for her father and sister, but she was willing to do so; the love she still felt for them spilled over into everything she did.

Getting ready for the Reapings was quite dull for Millicent and her family. Millicent made her family breakfast, then got into her favorite blue dress and brushed out her hair before making lunch. Finally, she helped her family out of bed before going to the Reaping. Millicent didn't think it was odd that her father and sister walked totally normally to the square, not showing the signs of the illnesses that struck them hours before; she figured that they were just feeling better. Maybe her flu would miraculously disappear the same way.

When she got to the square, she got her finger pricked and settled into the section of other thirteen-year-old girls. She knew, however, that her name was in there twelve times; her family had asked her to take out tesserae two extra times each year to help the family, and of course she obliged; with the number of kids in Twelve taking tesserae, she figured she would be safe.

Another coughing fit suddenly overtook Millicent. The girls around her glared at her, and tried to distance themselves from her as much as possible. "Stop coughing, Nil!" snapped a girl next to her, using the nickname that Millicent had embraced.

The mentor-escort situation in Twelve hadn't changed much at all in the past quarter-century. There were no new mentors since the Laurel twins won in the 84th and 85th Hunger Games, but everyone was glad that they would have four mentors for the Quell: the twins, Katniss, and Damian, who won the 76th Games. Ellessa Trinket, Effie's daughter, was still the escort; she did a good job, from what Millicent heard, but was unable to move into a better district because there had been no victories in Twelve. But everyone was surprised to see another escort take the stage; Ellessa introduced the woman next to her wearing a blue dress that looked like an aquarium as Rhea Yorker, the district's secondary escort.

Finally, it was time to begin the drawing of names. Ellessa reached into the bowl and picked out a name.

"Brooklyn Cherry!"

A wide circle formed around a tiny blonde twelve-year-old girl, who was shocked, just unable to move. Brooklyn looked dazed, needing the help of a Peacekeeper to bring her to the stage. Millicent felt bad for the little girl, who looked smaller than some of the ten-year-olds she knew from around her house; though her hair, eyes, and skin tone made her look like a merchant class, her skinny frame and small stature seemed to fit more with a Seam kid..

"Douria Hovello!" read Ellessa from the second slip she drew out of the bowl. Douria too seemed shocked, but her face turned to anger seconds later; as she made her way to the stage, Douria seemed to realize something that made her feel much more comfortable. She was calm as she took her place next to Brooklyn.

Ellessa drew out a third slip, which had the name "Brietta Westwood!" on it. Another girl came out of the section of fourteen-year-olds, clearly from the merchant class despite her out-of-place strawberry blonde hair. She wiped away a few tears and sniffled a bit as she took her place next to the other girls.

Finally, the last slip was drawn.

"Millicent Jones!"

As Millicent approached the stage, she knew that she needed her flu to clear up; otherwise, she didn't stand a chance.

* * *

 _Brietta Westwood, 14_

* * *

The first people to come to see Brietta off were her parents, older brother, and younger twin sisters.

"Brietta, you have to find a way to get picked by Garnet," begged Avalon, one of her younger sisters.

"It could save us!" continued Isolde, the other twin. "That would be amazing!"

"Guys, guys, I'll try," cautioned Brietta, "but I can't make any promises. I'm also pretty young."

Sophia added, "You're going to turn fifteen in two weeks, though! That's certainly old enough; three years isn't that big of an age difference."

"And fifteen is certainly old enough to fall in love," smiled Ronan, her brother. "Reagan and I fell in love when we were fifteen."

"But it might be different with the President's son."

Brietta's father, Samuel, then pulled her into a warm embrace. "You need to be careful while you're there, honey," she said. "You have a tendency to be super talkative, and spilling secrets is never a good way to win over potential allies."

"Stay safe for me, my baby," urged Liliana, her mother, wiping away tears as well. "We'll make sure to send you a cake if you make it two weeks in either situation." She cracked a small smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"You can do this! I'm sure of it!" urged Avalon.

"We love you!" said Isolde.

"Burn them in sugar if you can!" Avalon suggested. "You know how to heat sugar from helping in the candy shop."

Brietta scoffed. "Where am I going to get sugar in the Arena?"

"Sponsor gifts? You're pretty. You'll get sponsors."

"I hope so."

And with that, Brietta's time with her family was done. She gave everyone a last hug before they left her alone.

Then, Brietta was tackled by her best friend, Sophia. "I can't afford to lose you!" Sophia exclaimed, burying her head in Brietta's shoulder. "What are we going to do?"

"You're going to live as normal and I'm going to try to get Garnet to like me. Let's treat today as normal. Did you hear about what happened last night?"

"No." Sophia leaned forward eagerly. "Tell me!"

"So I woke up early today because I was nervous, and Mom wasn't in the house! She got back about half an hour after I woke up, and she told me that she had to bring this man to a healer. He had been stabbed right next to our house!"

"That's sad, but also so exciting!"

"So Mommy took in the little girl whose brother got killed for the morning and helped her get ready. She refused to change out of the red t-shirt and jeans she was wearing even though there was still blood on it. And guess what."

"Was she the one that got Reaped?"

"Yep."

"That's so sad!"

"Mommy told me not to tell anybody, but I can trust you. Don't tell anybody, OK?"

Sophia nodded. "Oh! I just remembered! Reagan told me to tell you she loves you too, and that she hopes that you get to be here for the wedding."

Brietta gave Sophia one last hug. "I love you. Be the best person we can be, OK?"

As Sophia left the room, Brietta longed for a day where she could have the familiarity of home again.

* * *

 **Hey friends!**

 **Thanks for the patience on this long chapter wait. I was away at a convention for my youth group, so I wasn't really able to write at all. But it was a great convention – two of my friends got elected to super high positions, I had a ton of fun, and I met some awesome new people from all over the country! So that was super fun!**

 **I hope you enjoyed our friends from Twelve! They do all read kind of similarly, but not uncommon in my Twelve headcanons; I did, however, have some trouble writing longer POVs for them, hence why this is a shorter chapter.**

 **Who do you like? Who don't you like? What do you think will happen with alliances, now that we have so many tributes?**

 **Thanks so much for your continued support. I'm hoping to have another chapter or two up super soon.**

 **Here's to an amazing 2017 for all of us!**

 **-goldie031**


	15. District 3 Reapings

_Honey and Drew Voltas, 16_

* * *

Reaping Day was especially difficult for Honey. She often felt overwhelmed by the crowds of people waiting to hear their fate. And she would always cry when the name of the girl was drawn, regardless of who it was; the thought of that person leaving and never coming back had scared her since she was a child.

As she often did on Reaping Day, Honey got out of bed and went to snuggle with Drew, her twin. The two still shared a room, primarily because there wasn't another bedroom in the house, though it often made Honey feel more comfortable; she admired her brother's much braver nature, and she felt that, by being closer to him, some of him might rub off on her.

But not closer to him that way. Incest was not in the cards for either twin; they were just very close friends.

"Good morning, Honey," said Drew, acknowledging his sister with a little pat on the head. "How are you feeling."

"Nervous. But who wouldn't?"

"Don't worry. I'm not nervous. Everything will be fine!"

But in reality, Drew was kind of nervous. Two years before, he had come out to his family as transgender; he was once a girl named Sugar, but now he was a boy named Drew. It had felt like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders, because he could be the person he wanted to be all the time. His brother and sister had been very accepting about it, but his mother couldn't accept his new identity at all; to her, Drew was still Sugar, and he would always be her. Consequentially, his mother had kept a close eye on him, not allowing him to report to the Capitol his correct gender; if he were reaped, it would be as Sugar, and regardless of the outcome in the Games it would be much more of an uphill battle for him to fully identify as a male.

"Did you have breakfast yet?" Drew asked his twin.

"No, I just woke up."

"Let's go down and get some."

Drew and Honey got out of bed and got dressed, then went downstairs, where they found their mother busy in the kitchen. "Good morning Honey, Sugar," she said curtly to her children. "Breakfast is on the table."

The twins took their seats across from each other at the table as they always did. They were then greeted by their father, Vespa, who gave each a kiss on the cheek. "Good morning, Honey and Drew," he said. "How are you guys feeling?"

"Nervous, but good," said Drew.

"Honey?"

Honey nodded and gave a thumbs up.

"Good. Keep yourselves safe today, OK? I know you guys are off from school, but don't do anything stupid. I'll see you at the Reaping." Vespa gave both of his kids a kiss, then left for work.

Bea, their mother, then began on her daily tirade against her children. "You know, Honey, you'd do so much better in life if you were more like your sister. Sugar at least has ambition, drive, and is comfortable enough to talk. You're just kind of there. You need to be more like Sugar."

 _I don't need to be more like Sugar,_ thought Honey. _I need to be more like Drew._

After breakfast, Honey and Drew went back up to their room. As they did every morning, the two glanced at the wig stand on their dresser. The two both kept their hair very short, and while Honey put the wig on most days, sometimes she wanted to pose as Drew, and so let her brother put it on. Honey remembered the first few days she would pose as Drew; trying to emulate her brother's confidence and daring nature had made her more confident in those days, but as soon as she took the wig off, she was lost. Honey took off the wig and put it on the stand, then looked at her brother.

"I can be you today, if it will make you feel better," offered Drew.

"But what if one of us gets reaped?"

"Neither of us will get reaped. Everything will be OK."

That year, District Three's Reaping wasn't until after lunch, so the twins went their separate ways for the morning. Drew (dressed as Honey) stayed home, working on some technological project that Honey was doing that he really didn't understand; he hoped that he hadn't screwed it up for her. Meanwhile, Honey (dressed as Drew) went on a run, getting home with just enough time for the two to shower and change for the Reaping.

Finally, it was time for the Reaping. In District Three, they didn't use finger-pricking for checking in; rather, they used fingerprint scanners that automatically logged each kid in. As Drew was still on the Capitol's records as Sugar, he and his sister both had to check in. Luckily, to keep up the ruse, the two had rubber fingers that they slipped on with the other's fingerprint, created by Honey; she had been working on it for a Capitol espionage agency, and had managed to create one for her and one for her brother in the process. The two joined the other sixteen-year-olds to wait for the Reaping to begin.

District Three's primary escort, Khione Grenaider, was fairly experienced in their district; though she was only in her early thirties, she'd been in Three for as long as Holly or Drew could remember. The secondary escort, however, was certainly new; her name was Bubblegum Tickles, as was evident by her bubblegum-pink skin, hair, and dress.

One of the oft-forgotten and little-talked-about facts about District Three was their Victory drought; after the back-to-back wins by Beetee and Wiress in the 48th and 49th Games, no tribute from Three came home until Jones Javan won the 106th Games. The celebrations were beyond anyone's wildest dreams, and though the receptions for Linus Packard after the 118th Games an Byte Harper after the 122nd Games were slightly less exorbitant, the district was still glad that it had three competent Victors. Byte won at just fourteen, the youngest Victor thus far in this fifth quarter-century of Games, and thus younger than some of the tributes she had mentored in the previous two years.

It was now time to draw names. Khione picked the first name out of the bowl as District Three took a collective breath and Holly squeezed her twin's hand.

"Muire Spencer."

Drew watched as a circle formed around a short figure in the section of seventeen-year-olds. (While he assumed that it was a girl, Drew knew how bad it made him feel when he was misgendered, and didn't want to do the same to anyone else.) The person's expression changed from a quiver to a full-on sob as they made their way to the stage.

"Pix Drexel."

The seventeen-year-old section again cleared a space for the person to make their way to the stage. They looked… not confident, but not shell-shocked, almost like they'd seen their fate coming.

Khione made her way to the bowl and drew a third name. "Sugar Voltas."

Both twins were stunned. Honey, who was still dressed as Drew, had to be physically dragged to the stage by the Peacekeepers. She began to cry, unable to think of what to do to. When she got to the stage, she managed to tell Bubblegum, the secondary escort, that the slip should really read "Drew Voltas," not that it would have made much difference.

Back in the crowd, Drew's mind began racing. He had to find a way to save his sister. Volunteering for her probably wouldn't work – it would have eventually sent her into the Games, which would have caused major problems for her. As far as he could see it, there was only one way to protect her.

Khione drew a fourth name. "Bit Harper!"

On stage, Byte bent to her knees as her thirteen-year-old sister made her way to the stage. But Drew knew that Bit and Byte had nothing to worry about. "I volunteer!" yelled Drew, making his way to the stage and shocking both Honey and Byte.

"What's your name?" asked Khione.

"Honey Voltas."

"That was a very brave thing you just did."

"I know."

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your tributes from District Three!"

"Why did you do that, Drew?" whispered Honey through her sobs as the Treaty of Treason was read.

"I had to make sure you were safe," he murmured back.

"We could have just switched places in the goodbye room or something," she replied. "That could have been so much better. That way, only one of us would have gone in, and you're much braver than me anyway. You could have won the Games!"

"It wouldn't have been good either way. Now I just need to make sure that you get home. That's my goal."

As the four tributes made their way back to the goodbye rooms, Byte pulled Drew, still dressed as Honey, aside. She looked at him, tears welling up in her big brown eyes. "You saved my sister," she said, in the most sincere tone that she'd ever used and that he'd ever heard. "I'm going to try to make sure you and your twin make it back to Three alive."

* * *

 _Pix Drexel, 17_

* * *

Pix had a feeling that she would be sitting there, waiting for her parents and friends to come say goodbye. She'd known it since she woke up that morning that today wouldn't be her day. But logically, she had much better odds of coming back than in any other year, and so she felt hopeful. Maybe things would go her way.

The first people to greet Pix were her parents, Raich and Gea. Pix stood up as they came into the room, and gave her mother, then her father, a giant hug.

"Pix, are you going to be OK?" asked Gea, fighting back tears.

"I don't know," admitted Pix. "Usually my systems give me a sense of how things are going to go for me, but I'm not getting any results."

"You need to make yourself as attractive as you can to Garnet," instructed her father, "This way, you can come home to us."

"I need to see if our processors are compatible first. We haven't even tried to link ourselves up yet."

Gea sighed. She was used to her daughter's peculiar way of looking at the world, but knew that nobody else was. "I brought you a present," she said, holding out an old-fashioned computer key, the letter "G".

"Oh, it's the first key from my key collection!" exclaimed Pix, taking the key from her mother. "I'll bring this with me to the Games.

"Pix, what am I going to do with you? Or without you?" Raich corrected himself.

"You should be fine, if my logic is correct. Remember, there is a greater than 50% chance that I will come out of the Games alive. Do you want to hear what I did at work yesterday? I got home after you guys left for work." Pix then launched into a long tangent about the code that she had been working on to mass-produce the computer chips she helped to manufacture, the different ways that changing a single zero to a one in the binary code, or vice versa, could impact every single chip produced, the speed at which the chips are produced, et cetera. Her mother, who had taught her to program, kept up with her, but her father, who was not nearly as good of a programmer, was completely lost. Though he loved his daughter, he was kind of relieved when he was led out of the room with his wife, not before giving his daughter one last hug.

Then, Pix welcomed her friends into her room. She and Cole had been working in the same area of the factory for as long as either had been working, and Rav had just come in the year before.

"How are you doing, Pix?" asked Rav.

"My hard disc is struggling a little bit to process everything, but my processor is OK. I hope."

"Your hard disc and processor?"

"Her brain and her heart," Cole translated. "I've got you covered, Pix. What's your plan for the Games?"

"Go with the logic approach," said Pix. "My hard drive is better at that than anything. I don't care if I have a different configuration than most of the kids in this world; I think I can use my logic to help them to like me."

"Do you think your hardware gives you more of an advantage, or your software?"

"I hope my hardware will help, but computers only work together if their software is compatible."

"Let's just hope that your software is compatible with Garnet's, then. You need to come back for us!"

"We need your help at work," added Rav. "You know what you're doing more than any of the rest of us."

"I'll try my best. As long as my system doesn't crash, I'll be OK. Now, let me tell you how to finish the code I've been working on."

* * *

 _Muire Spencer, 17_

* * *

Mu was still sobbing as they were led into their goodbye room. They collapsed onto a couch, unable to think or act.

The first group to come into Mu's room were their parents, older brother, and younger sister. Mu reached out to their mother for an embrace, who returned it deeply. "Oh, Mu! Honey, how are you doing?"

"I'm dealing," they said, burying their head in their lap. Mu wasn't used to being the center of attention in their family; that spot usually went to Pluto, who was the most scientifically gifted of the three siblings, or Pia, who was the most defiant of the three, especially now that she was entering puberty.

"We love you so, so much," said their father. "Please, try to win Garnet over. Do whatever you can. We need you back."

Pluto came close to his sbling next. He sat next to them and gave them a big hug. "I'm going to do whatever I can for you, Mu, so I can help you get home from these Games."

"We love you and are here for you," insisted Mu's mom. "We know you can come back to us!"

Mu nodded, nearly bursting into tears again, so thankful for the support from their family that they weren't used to getting publicly. "I love you guys," they said. "I'm going to miss you all!"

"Do it for all of us," said their father.

Finally, Pia looked at Muire. "You're cool. I love you." And with that, she walked out.

"She's going to be tough to deal with through all of this," said their mother. "Let's go get her." Each member of their family gave Mu another hug, and then left. Mu again felt overshadowed by their siblings, a feeling that they could never seem to shake.

The only other person they expected to see was their friend Oswin, who came in next. Oswin and Mu had become close after one particularly bad instance in which Mu was bullied; Oswin had helped them pick up their books and get to class, and Mu had been forever grateful.

"Thank you for lending me this outfit, Oswin," smiled Mu, as they embraced their friend and buried their head into his shoulder. "I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome, Mu. How are you feeling?"

"Not great. Getting reaped is never good, but I don't like that I was reaped as a girl. I don't always feel like one, you know? I actually was feeling quite masculine this morning."

"I know. Living in a world with this binary in particular is difficult. Maybe Garnet can help you feel more validated in your identity."

"Or he'll do the opposite and make me feel like it's not valid to be genderfluid. That's the biggest fear I have."

Oswin pulled Mu in for another hug. "Did you ever tell your parents?"

"Not yet. I don't know if I will."

"You should do it before the Games. You know? If your life comes to ending, it should happen with you identifying the way you want to be known. If it doesn't end because you get picked, you want to be open with Garnet, because it would be especially bad for everyone involved if you didn't feel like you were being fully open with Garnet."

"You're right, as usual," nodded Mu, curling up again to Oswin's side. They were so thankful to have him in their life.

"I brought you something," said Oswin. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple paper clip. "I couldn't find anything else to give you, so I have this."

"I love it. Thank you!" said Mu, taking the paper clip and putting it into their pocket. "It's perfect."

Suddenly, the Peacekeepers burst into the room, and pulled Oswin out. Mu tried to retain a last little bit of contact with him, but he was gone all too soon. And Mu was left feeling quite lost and quite alone.

* * *

 **Hey friends!**

 **So this was an experiment that I wanted to try with writing; there was no better way to write for Honey and Drew than to do their POVs together. Tell me what you thought! It wasn't a perfect way to write it, but it took me a while to come up with what you see here.**

 **Let's run through the same questions! Who do you like? Who don't you like? Who is Garnet picking?**

 **We only have three more District Reapings before things start to get a bit odd, but I'll explain that once we finish. I hope to get one more chapter out tomorrow before I go back to school.**

 **Thanks again for all of your support. I really couldn't do any of this without you!**

 **-goldie031**


	16. District 10 Reapings

_Eloise LaBelle, 16_

* * *

Eloise sat on the stool on the stage, tuning her banjo to the guitar that her grandfather was playing. In the area of District Ten where she lived, fun wasn't easy to find, so her Maw and Paw ran a square-dancing club for the farmers in the area. It was Eloise's singing that brought lots of people in to the club; nights like this, it was really needed.

 _TWANG TWANG_ went the banjo's strings, as Eloise got her instrument in tune. Finally, she was ready to play.

It was Eloise's voice that really drew so many people in to the club. While she preferred to dance, she knew that it was her singing that kept the business afloat, which brought in the extra money that her grandparents needed keep the farm afloat, and to keep Eloise safe. Normally, Eloise would play for most of the night, but tonight, her grandparents were willing to let her dance, because who knew what tomorrow would bring?

Eloise knew she at least had to play three songs, so she played her favorite three-song set before putting down the banjo to head out onto the dance floor. Her favorite dances were the partner dances. Eloise often got a lot of requests for dances from the boys, but she often knew after watching the people file in to the club who she wanted to dance with.

"Eloise, care to have this one?" a boy asked as she came down from the stage.

"Naw," she said in her deep southern drawl, making a beeline for Hartley, her choice dance partner. He was by far the best dancer in her area; Eloise had spent time with him working with the cows before, and when he started to come to the club, she'd discovered that he was quite a good dancer. Eloise enjoyed dancing with him more than anyone else, and with the next day's uncertainty, she wanted to make sure that they got one last dance together, if things went badly.

Eloise smiled at her partner. "This must feel pretty good, Hartley, to not have to worry this year," she said, as they danced around the large wooden floor of Eloise's family barn.

"Yeah, it's nice to have that weight off of my shoulders. I'm not out of the woods yet, though."

"But you don't have to worry tonight!" Eloise laughed. "It's dancing time!" She dragged Hartley to the center of the room, pulled him into a square dance hold, and led him through the motions of dancing. It was times like this, when her long blonde hair would fly naturally down her back, that she felt the freest and happiest.

Suddenly, another girl came up behind Eloise. She attempted to push the shorter blonde out of the way, but Eloise held her own; this girl was a regular in the club, and Eloise knew that she was out of Reaping age.

"Ex-CUSE ME!" Eloise exclaimed. "You don't need to worry about being sent to your death tomorrow, so get your paws off of my man!"

The other girl quickly apologized and backed off, finding an older kid on the sides of the square to dance with instead. So the night continued on and on, Eloise dancing her cares away, knowing that in the morning, everything could change forever.

* * *

 _Peach Unk, 15_

* * *

To say that Peach and her father didn't have the best relationship would be an understatement.

Peach believed that her father didn't understand her; he always told her what to do, and she hated that. Her father, on the other hand, believed that his daughter was a good-for-nothing punk, who couldn't ever do anything right.

Suffice it to say that the two didn't really have a common ground.

The only time the two really spent together was in the mornings at breakfast. And Reaping Day was no different.

Peach's father woke up early in the morning, because he was one of the people in charge of the cattle ranchers in the district; cows don't sleep in, so he didn't sleep in. Consequentially, Peach made a point to wake up as late as she could without missing school; usually, she would get downstairs just as her father was leaving the house, with very little interaction between the two of them at all.

This morning, though Peach came out of her room at a normal time, she was surprised to see her father waiting there.

"Good morning, Peach," he said.

"Good morning, Father."

"I know we don't always get along, but good luck today." He gave his daughter an awkward hug before leaving for work.

Peach knew the Reaping wouldn't be for a while, so she decided instead to find her friends where she knew they would be. She was lucky to live near one of the more… underground areas of District Ten. It was so far south in the district that the Capitol couldn't necessarily monitor it, in an area that the people who went there called The Pit. She knew that she didn't have a ton of time until the Reapings, but it was time for one of the traditions that she and her friend group had kept up for years.

"Did you pick yours out yet, Peach?" asked Amelia, one of her two best friends.

"No, but I'm thinking of doing another peach this year, to go with the rest on the tree."

"That would be cute!" Amelia showed Peach and their other friend, Jenny, the picture of the tattoo she was planning to get. "I was thinking of doing a four-leaf clover. For luck, ya know?"

"You don't need luck!" scolded Jenny. "Things will be fine today! I'm going to get a fire. Because I'm brave and bold like fire!"

Every Reaping Day where they had been eligible, the girls had gotten tattoos for good luck. It had worked so far, so why wouldn't it work this year?

Eventually, Peach settled on her tattoo, opting for a bucket of peaches to put under the peach tree on her left shoulder. As usual, she went first, getting her arm wiped down and bracing herself through the pain of getting the tattoo. When it was done, the tattoo artist held up a mirror to show her the finished product. "Oh, it's perfect!" exclaimed Peach.

"My turn!" said Jenny. She laid down on the table and took off her shirt, allowing the artist to tattoo the flames on her back. Finally, Amelia sat down for a four-leaf clover on her left calf.

They let the tattoo artist cover the tattoos and treat them with whatever pain-dulling liquid they used, then headed out to walk to the Reaping. Peach didn't really care about the outfit she wore, staying in her ripped up top and jeans.

Like in District Nine, District Ten had a North City and a South City, with similar technology allowing kids to check in in one place and be logged in the other; Peach got her finger pricked in South City, where the main Reaping stage was, and took her place with the other fifteen-year-old girls. The Reaping always frustrated Peach, what with the rules and particulars of the day and everyone needing to follow along; however, she knew that, if there was any time where not following the rules could be dangerous, it was on Reaping day, because it would probably lead to some sort of forced entry in the Games, which Peach certainly didn't want.

So, she decided instead to just wait it out, and hope that everything would be OK.

Eventually, it came time for the Reapings to begin. Eloise watched as the mentors and escorts took the stage.

While most of the Districts had at least one escort who'd actually done the job before, District Ten had somehow gotten stuck with two new ones. One of them, Fanny Fanta, seemed to be a complete ditz; she couldn't even look like she was focused on the speeches that Mayor Allson was giving. But that seemed to be better than the secondary escort, Mime Alayza, who was mute. This meant that pretty much all of the work for the Games would fall on the mentors; luckily, Ten had enough to work with that year. There were eight living victors from District Ten: Bat Watson, who won the 60th Games, Vlada Mink, who won the 66th, Bakar Blinks of the 68th, Zolt MacEnroe, who won the 80th Games, Mosule Rose, who won the 81st Games but was unable to successfully mentor his daughter in the 100th Games, Hawk Hawkins, who won the 93rd Games, Bessie Heifer, who won the 101st, and Michelle Cabello, who won the 119th Games. On a year like this, with useless escorts, all eight would be needed to have hope of bringing one girl home.

Fanny looked at the bowl, seeming confused. Bat, one of the oldest living Victors at 81 years old, had to wheel her wheelchair over to the bowl to give Fanny directions.

"Eloise LaBelle!" exclaimed Fanny, finally realizing that she actually had to read the name on the slip. The girl, totally shocked, slowly made her way from the section of sixteen-year-olds, looking completely unable to function.

Fanny drew a second name. "Lennox Silverson-Smith!" she practically screamed. Another blonde sixteen-year-old came out; she initially looked shell-shocked, but her expression quickly gave way to tears.

Fanny looked so excited to draw a third name. "Cheyenne Davanzo!" For the first time, the screen displayed a girl from North City. A black-haired girl came out from the seventeens to the stage, looking less upset and more scared, as if nothing made her feel more afraid than being in front of the crowd.

There was only one name left. Peach was so close to being out of the woods.

"Peach Unk!"

As Peach was escorted to the stage, she found herself "helped" by a Peacekeeper. She began to fight him; after all, she could do it all by herself! Unfortunately, this led her to be shot by a tranquilizer gun.

As she fell asleep, Peach couldn't help but feel less nervous about the Games and more about the people who would be monitoring her during them.

* * *

 _Cheyenne Davanzo, 17_

* * *

Cheyenne really only expected her family to come and visit her. So she was surprised when the first person to come into the room was her study partner, Clarisse.

"I can't stay long, Cheyenne. I have to go back to the farm to help out. So I wanted to make sure to say good luck and goodbye, Cheyenne. We'll miss you."

With that, Clarisse was gone. Cheyenne didn't really have any friends, but she was OK with that; it was in her nature to be more closed off from the other kids her age. It also struck Cheyenne that she was the only North City girl going into the Games; more likely than not, she wasn't going to even be familiar with anybody who would be going in with her, which was a scary thought.

After what seemed like forever, Cheyenne was more than thrilled to see her parents and siblings come into the room; it was now that she felt that she might actually kind of need them.

"Cheyenne, what are we going to do without you on the farm? You're such a huge help to all of us!" exclaimed her mother, pulling her daughter in for a hug.

"You guys will be fine. You'll live!"

"But Cheyenne, you do so much. The cows love you. They'll miss you!"

"Hopefully they're not too attached to me."

Cheyenne's father, who owned the farm, bent down and looked his daughter in the eye. "Cheyenne. You are not going to give up on life because you got Reaped. You are going to be strong, because you are strong, and stubborn, because you're also very stubborn. No matter what happens in the next few days, know that you will make me proud, because you always have and always will."

Cheyenne felt her eyes water up. She flung herself onto her father, and gave him a huge hug and kiss. "I'm going to miss you!" She knew that her attachment could be problematic later on, but for now, the love of her father was exactly what she needed.

Cheyenne then turned her attention to her twin older brothers, Colt and Dean. The two boys were literal cowboys, in charge of handling the cows, while the girls mostly milked the cows on the dairy farm. "Colt, Dean, are you guys going to be OK?"

"We'll be fine, and we'll do our best to support you," said Colt. "You are going to be strong and resolute there in the arena, and I know you're going to make our family proud."

"We love you, Cheyenne," added Dean; the two tended to finish and echo each other's thoughts. "Be strong for us."

Cheyenne finally looked to her younger sister, Lana. "If Garnet picks you next week, I can be safe. You can definitely do it, Cheyenne. You just need to open up to him a bit."

As Cheyenne looked at the desperation on her sister's face, she knew that she couldn't promise anything. "I will do everything I can, Lana. I'll try my best," she said.

It was the best she could do.

* * *

 _Lennox Silverson-Smith, 16_

* * *

Lennox waited anxiously in her goodbye room, twirling her blonde hair nervously and glancing around the room, waiting for her family to join her.

The door burst open as Lennox's sister, Raelynn, flung herself into her older sister's arms. For the little girl, Lennox was as close to a mother figure as she'd had consistently had; while the death of their birth parents four years prior had technically put the two girls and their brother in the custody of her parents' friends, the Smiths, Raelynn still looked to Lennox as a mother and trusted her more than the woman who should have been acting as such.

"Lennox, don't leave me!" Raelynn wailed, sobbing in her sister's lap. "I don't want to lose you."

Lennox cradled her younger sister carefully in her arms. "I'll do everything I can. Garnet might pick me, and that would be good for all of us. You would be safe forever."

"That would be nice."

Lennox reached her arms out to her brother Tobias. "You need to be strong for Raelynn, OK? Keep her optimistic. And if things go wrong, be her big brother and her daddy, OK?"

Tobias nodded. "I promise."

The door opened again. Lennox looked up to see her adoptive family walk in the door. The Smiths had been nice enough to take in Lennox and her two younger siblings after The Incident; adding three kids to their family in one fell swoop, all of whom were younger than their two daughters, Charlotte and Lindsey. Whether the current pregnancy was planned or not was none of Lennox's business, but she had certainly been looking forward to meeting the little tyke when they came.

"We wish you the best of luck, Lennox," said Renee, approaching her adopted daughter and giving her a hug. "It has been a privilege to act as your parents for the past four years; your mother and father would be very proud."

"Thank you," replied Lennox. "I hope that I can return, but please, do whatever you can for Raelynn, if I don't. I'm worried about her." Lennox looked down at the tiny figure on her lap, still sobbing into her older sister's leg.

"We will be here for her," Brad, her adoptive father, assured Lennox, "no matter how things play out. She is our daughter now, just as you are our daughter. And we will do whatever we can to help her and Tobias."

"Give Toby some stuff to do on the farm, if you can," insisted Lennox. "He needs something to keep him occupied for the next few days." Brad nodded.

Lennox turned to the two older girls, Charlotte and Lindsey. The younger of the two, just two years older than Lennox, embraced her adopted sister with a tight hug. "Lennox, you've been such a joy to have with us over the past for years. You've brought light to our home, and we can't thank you enough for all you are."

"Stay safe for us," urged Charlotte. "Get Garnet to pick you. Maybe you can even save the new baby."

Lennox thought for a moment. "I don't know for sure, but maybe I can. I'd like Garnet to pick me anyway; it would be nice to live!"

Everyone nodded. The room momentarily fell silent, Raelynn's sobs slowly becoming little whimpers.

Renee spoke up. "This is for you, Lennox," she said, handing the tribute a silver chain with a silver ring on it. "Your mother gave this to me to give to you just in case anything was to happen to you, to keep until you turned eighteen. I think you deserve it now more than ever. It was your mother's wedding ring."

Lennox looked at the necklace. She didn't have many of her mother's things, not after The Incident. So this meant the world to her. "Thank you. I'll cherish it for as long as I have left."

Suddenly, the door burst open and the Peacekeepers whisked out Lennox's family. As the last of them left the room, she turned around and gave Lennox a look of pity, as if she knew the events that led Lennox to the custody of the Smiths.

After a few moments, the door burst open, and Lennox's friends, Damon, Caroline, and Rebekkah, entered the room.

"Lennox, why did it have to be you?" cried Rebekkah, giving her friend a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"I don't know," replied Lennox. "We don't choose our own fates, do we?"

"I guess not."

"You can definitely do this, Lennox!" urged Damon. "You know how to work with and trap animals, and you worked in your dad's butcher shop, so you can do knives. You have stuff you can work with."

"But Careers," Lennox reminded him. "They're a thing."

"Lennox is right," interjected Caroline. "Your best bet would be to go for Garnet."

"Maybe he'll pity you if you tell him about Raelynn," suggested Damon.

"She's still a mess," added Rebekkah. "But that could work for you!"

"I don't want to extort my baby sister!" Lennox attempted to hold off the suggestions from her friends, but they kept coming. She should hide her knife skills until the end. She should focus on Garnet more than the Games anyway. She should make sure that Garnet knows about the new baby. Lennox should cut her hair. She should get extensions. She should wear makeup. She shouldn't wear makeup. Finally, she'd had enough. "Guys! I'm going to be fine. I've got this under control. This is what the escorts are for – to help me out.

"Well, in this case, the mentors and stylists. I don't think either escort is going to be super helpful."

"You're probably right," said Rebekkah.

"How did we get stuck with the mime?" asked Damon.

"Probably because we use all eight of our Victors every year," suggested Lennox. Everyone nodded in agreement.

The door burst open again, and the Peacekeepers came in to take all of Lennox's friends away.

And for the first time in a long time, Lennox felt truly alone.

* * *

 **Here it is, the Ten Reapings! It's so gratifying every time I finish a chapter, and we're so close to finishing the Reapings! We have essentially four more Reaping chapters to go: the Eleven and Five Reapings, the Capitol Reapings, and then one more Reaping chapter that you'll find out about at the end of the Capitol Reapings. So there are still quite a few more chapters to go and characters to meet, but I think you'll like them!**

 **What did you think of these guys? Did you like them? Did you not? Who is Garnet going to pick?**

 **I'm so excited to finally get the ball rolling on this story. I'll see you guys next chapter!**

 **-goldie031**


	17. District 11 Reapings

_Narcissa Wilder, 18_

* * *

Narcissa waited until all of the other girls had left the locker room. She had a plan of attack for that day, and she was perfectly ready to put it into action. She had talked to her gym teachers that morning, and had managed to convince them that her ankle was sprained, allowing her to stay in the locker room during gym class. It was not actually sprained in the slightest.

She'd had this particular prank planned for a few weeks; Narcissa had bought some skunk spray concentrate from the black market, and had planned to fill the perfume bottles of the girls in her school with the skunk spray instead of perfume. (As her family was one of the wealthiest in the District, they could afford to pay the hefty sum needed to send their daughter to school during harvest season instead of working in the fields; the other girls in this particular school were in the same boat, hence why they could afford perfume.) The best way to make that happen was to do so during Physical Education, as all of the girls would use their perfume immediately after gym to get rid of the stench from their sweat. Additionally, as they had gym at the beginning of the day, the girls would smell like skunk for the whole day! It was the perfect way to screw with everyone!

First, Narcissa pulled out the set of noseplugs she had in her bag, so that she wouldn't be able to smell anything, especially the skunk smell. Then, she grabbed the perfume bottles of all of the other girls in her grade and lined them up on the free bench in the locker room. Narcissa went through the bottles, marking on each one with a washable marker the level of perfume that was in each bottle initially. She then pulled over a large bucket, into which she had planned to dump all of the other girls' perfume. She worked systematically, opening one bottle at a time, dumping its contents into the bucket, and screwing its lid back on before moving to the next one. After Narcissa had finished emptying all of the bottles, she went back through the bottles, filling each up to the line she'd previously marked with the skunk spray that she was keeping in a large clear plastic bottle. Then, she tried her best to put each bottle back in the vicinity of where she'd found it; admittedly, this proved difficult, as there were exactly two styles of perfume bottles that could be found in District Eleven: tall, clear, and cylindrical, or short, clear, wider, and square. She thought that she had gotten it right, but wouldn't know for sure until the girls came back into the locker room.

Once each bottle was in place, she looked around, satisfied with her work. Finally, she might have been able to pull a prank that would actually work! It was one of the most frustrating things for Narcissa that, whenever she tried to pull a prank on anyone, it somehow backfired; it wasn't that the prank came back to hurt her, it just didn't work. There was the time when she was five that she tried to tie a boy's shoelaces together, but it turned out that she'd somehow tied one shoe correctly together, simply leaving the other shoe untied for the boy to tie. Then there was the incident in the fields, when she was strategically taking fruit out of the bag of one of the girls that she particularly hated (not that she liked anyone) but ended up putting the fruit in another one of that same girl's bags. And then there was the time that she tried to convince the teacher that her friend Leticia was cheating on a test (which she wasn't), but when it turned out that there were other incidences of cheating on the same test, everyone had to retake it in isolation; Leticia ended up getting the highest grade in the class.

After another twenty or so minutes, all of the girls came back into the room, complaining about their gym teachers, the exercises they had to do, and all of the various related complaints.

"Hey, guys! I just got a new perfume," exclaimed Chrysanthemum, one of the more popular girls in the grade, and also one of the richest. "Want to try some?"

"Sure!" everyone else (except Narcissa) exclaimed. Narcissa waited in excitement as Chrysanthemum hunted through her stuff.

"My parents imported it for me from District One," said Chrysanthemum, pulling out a short, round bottle. Narcissa silently gasped. _That's not a normal Eleven bottle. Damn it – I didn't empty it!_

As Chrysanthemum pulled out the bottle to spray it, the extremely pleasant scent filled the locker room. Suddenly, every girl in the room went right to Chrysanthemum, clamoring for a spray of her perfume. "It's great," gushed Chrysanthemum. "Just one spray helps to keep away any scent at all!" After a while, the room was filled with the gorgeous scent of Chrysanthemum's perfume.

After the girls finished changing, they left the room. "You coming, Narcissa?" asked Chrysanthemum.

"You go ahead, I'll catch up."

"OK!"

Narcissa sat on the bench in the locker room, pulled out her nose plugs, and realized that she didn't smell any skunk at all. She grabbed a perfume bottle from an open locker, opened the top, and smelled it.

It was just her luck.

Narcissa had grabbed her mother's refill bottle of perfume instead of the bottle of skunk spray.

* * *

 _Maddison Harper, 12_

* * *

The first thing that Maddi did when she woke up was run into the other room and check on Summer. This had become a force of habit for Maddison since Rain began working, to make sure that Summer woke up for school; Maddi knew that her mother didn't care enough about her adopted sister to check on her in the morning, so she'd taken it upon herself to make sure that Summer got the education she deserved.

"Good morning, Summer," said Maddi, carefully rubbing her little sister's back to help her wake up.

Summer turned over a few times, then slowly sat up. "Maddi, I don't have school today," she said slowly, processing the light that was coming into her room.

"Oh, right," Maddi said quietly. "Well, you're awake now. Do you need help getting ready?"

"Nope. I'll be OK."

"OK. Let me know if you want anything for breakfast."

Maddi went back into the room she shared with her twin, Olivia. She opened the doors to her closet, and pulled out one of her two nice dresses, intentionally picking the pale pink one that was identical to Olivia's. Maddi knew that, on Reaping Day, parents tended to want their kids to be little babies again; it was their mother's favorite thing to do when the twins were little to dress them identically. Maddi then pulled out the other dress and draped it on the chair that went with the little desk they shared, hoping that Olivia would see it when she woke up.

When Maddi went downstairs, she found her mother in the kitchen and Summer at the table, neither paying much of any attention to the other. Maddi couldn't even remember the last time that her mother acknowledged the existence of either of the girls from Four.

Maddi wasn't oblivious to the main reason that her family was picked to adopt Rain and Summer: they were white. While the two girls from Four would look like the minority in Eleven regardless of with whom they were placed – the two girls had green eyes and brown hair like most of the people from Four, though their skin was paler than the stereotype – it would look less odd if they were at least placed with a family who looked like them. And the Peterson sisters had to go to District Eleven; they wouldn't have fit at all in Twelve, appearance-wise, and Rain and Summer's parents had requested that their girls not be placed in Eight, so Eleven was the next farthest District. But Maddi couldn't understand why her mother would accept the two sisters, knowing their history, yet be so cold to them, bordering on harsh, because of it.

"Good morning, Maddi," said her mother, giving her daughter a warm embrace and a kiss on the forehead. "Are you feeling OK?"

"I'm a bit nervous," Maddi replied. "But I think I'll be OK. This is only my first one, and I didn't take out any tesserae this year. And neither did Olivia."

"I know. Daddy and I made sure of that."

Maddi then went and gave Summer a hug. "How are you feeling, Summer?"

"I'm OK. It's just scary that all my sisters could leave me today." Summer didn't quite know what would happen if they got picked, but she knew that the people who did get picked didn't normally come back.

"We'll all be fine. The odds of any one of us getting picked are so low; it's even lower odds that all three of us will get picked."

That didn't exactly make Summer feel better, but she nodded and smiled anyway.

After Olivia came down, wearing the dress that Maddi intended, the three girls ate a quick breakfast before going their separate ways for the day. Maddi's mom had to work, so Maddi went to pick up her glasses alone. Maddi's glasses were essentially a hand-me-down pair, recycled from someone else in the District who had them at one point, and her vision was good enough to not really need them, but she could certainly see better with them; more importantly, they served as a perfect way to differentiate easily between Olivia and Maddison.

After picking up her glasses, Maddi went back home for a quick lunch before she, her sisters, and their mother left the house to go to the town square. As Maddi walked through the threshold, she turned around, conscious of the fact that this could be the last time she ever saw it.

* * *

 _Rain Peterson, 14_

* * *

"Good morning, Allison," Rain said to one of the other two girls in her work detail. "How are you feeling?"

"Decent," replied Allison. "Nervous as usual. You?"

Rain nodded in agreement. The one time every year that Rain felt upset that she had been moved away from District Four was on Reaping Day.

In Four, it wasn't guaranteed that there would be a volunteer, but the odds were much better than in District Eleven. Kids were trained every year for the Games; if a younger tribute were reaped, Rain had always anticipated that someone would step up to volunteer even if nobody was designated to do so. Consequentially, Rain wouldn't have had to worry about being Reaped at this age, and she figured that, even though she'd be taking an apprenticeship with her mother, she would have spent at least a little bit of time training before she got to an age where being reaped was a legitimate concern.

Granted, it was certainly safer for Rain and her baby sister, Summer, to be as far away from District Four as possible. Suffice it to say that their parents' reputations would have preceded them there even more than they did here in Eleven; being the children of the most infamous traitors in the district wasn't a good position for anybody to be in. Rain knew very little about what her parents did to merit their execution, but she was old enough to know that the only crimes that would merit execution were treason or murder. And she knew that treason was much more detrimental for a person's reputation than murder (after all, the Games exist), so she figured it had to be that.

So she wasn't sure if she would actually be safer in Four; on the one hand, the danger of the Games would be much lower, but on the other hand, the danger of the reactions of the people in Four to her and her sister because of her parents' actions would probably have been much higher.

"Rain, Rain!" said a harsh voice from the outside. She looked up to see her overseer giving her a harsh glare. "Don't let me catch you dozing off again. I'm generally lenient towards you, but you have to work, or I'll have to report you."

Rain was lucky that the overseer she worked under was actually her adopted father, Josh. He allowed her to talk to her friends while she worked, as long as she hit her quota; Rain knew that Josh didn't trust her because of her family history, but she was glad that she was able to work under him instead of under the other, generally harsher overseers.

"Have you seen Kyla today?" asked Allison, to break up the ensuing awkward silence

"Not yet. I'm sure she's coming, though."

The two girls resumed their work, picking the blackberries off of the bushes in their area. Kyla came just a few minutes after the other two started, and they chose to focus on their work, not wanting to think about the prospects of the day ahead.

When the flag went up, signaling that it was time to leave for the Reaping, Rain and her father left to meet up with the rest of their family at the town square. Rain gave Summer a huge hug before leading Olivia and Maddi to the line for checking in. She made sure that the twins got checked in before she got her own finger pricked. Then, she helped them get situated in the section of twelve-year-old girls before moving forwards towards her age group.

The first thing that Rain noticed when the mentors took the stage was that Rue was with Eleven this year. In fact, Rue hadn't mentored since the Fourth Quell for either Eleven or Twelve, the two districts with which she was associated, as she wasn't technically a Victor. Rain figured that it was because Rue would be the fourth mentor for the district, allowing each tribute to have their own, separate mentor. Unlike Rue, Quiinn, the only outer district Victor from the Fourth Quell, had mentored every year since, successfully bringing home two Victors, Skylar Lyman in the 112th Games and Beckia Hidalgo three years later.

The primary escort for Eleven was named Akatsuki Tano, who had been in the District for a while, even deciding to stay after bringing both Skylar and Beckia home. Their new secondary escort, Dya Enner Hale, was introduced by name, but didn't make a huge point of showing herself or showing Akatsuki up.

It was finally time to begin drawing names. For the third time in her life, Rain held her breath, but this time, it was not only for herself, but for her sisters as well.

"Narcissa Wilder," said Akatsuki, reading the name off of the small slip of paper. Everyone turned their heads towards the section of eighteen-year-olds, where a pretty brunette was walking fairly calmly to the stage. Rain couldn't understand how anybody could be calm going into the Games, especially not one where so much hinged upon someone who she had no personal interaction with.

The second name drawn was of an "Amaryllis Horne." An audible sigh could be heard from the section of seventeen-year-olds, as a dark-skinned girl with chestnut-brown hair moved towards the stage. It was clear to Rain that she was more upset than she was letting on.

"Rain Peterson!"

 _No,_ thought Rain. Tears immediately began to form in her eyes as she was escorted to the stage by a Peacekeeper; Rain couldn't bear the thought of not only dying, but not being there to protect her sister and to keep her happy and safe.

As Rain looked out into the audience from the stage, she noticed that her siblings were all in various stages of shock, but that her parents were stoic and emotionless, not acknowledging that it was their daughter who had been selected.

Akatsuki drew the last slip. "Maddison Harper!"

Rain's knees buckled, and she sank to the ground. Not only could she die, but she could also lose her sister, who had helped her and Summer so much dealing with their mother.

Though Maddi was two years younger, she had done so much to protect Rain. Now Rain needed to do whatever she could to protect Maddi.

* * *

 _Amaryllis Horne, 17_

* * *

Amaryllis felt quite nervous as she paced in her room. She was used to being in the majority in Eleven, so it was certainly odd for her to be the only dark-skinned girl reaped. On the other hand, looking back, it kind of made sense; after all, it had been more than two decades since the last white child, boy or girl, was Reaped from Eleven, and so Amaryllis figured it was just a bunch of overdue selections.

The door to the room burst open, and Amaryllis's parents and siblings came in. She was comforted by the five people in the room with her; she was generally reserved around other people, often leaning towards the mean side, but she felt significantly calmer around her family than anyone else.

"Oh, Lis," exclaimed her mother. "Please, do whatever you can to come home."

"I think I can do it, Mommy."

"You have to."

"Amaryllis, you can be with Garnet! He can love you and save you! And that could save us," suggested Thistle, Amaryllis's younger brother. Lis was two years younger than her big sister, yet fairly large age differences of six years and nine years separated Amaryllis from her two younger brothers, Thistle and Lark, respectively. Lark didn't quite understand what Garnet's Selection would mean for him, but Thistle did; if Amaryllis was picked, the two boys would never be in danger of being Reaped.

"I… can try," relented Amaryllis. "I'll do my best."

Thistle cuddled up to her older sister, who instinctively moved away from his touch. Being touched was Amaryllis's least favorite thing; she'd been able to suppress her urge to "I couldn't thank you enough if you did," he said. "It would take such a weight off of my shoulders."

Lis motioned towards little Lark, encouraging him to come closer. "Be strong for me, OK, little one? I'll do my best to come back to you, but if I even can, it might not be for a long time." Lark nodded and tried to give his sister a hug (which, as usual, failed) before retreating to let the rest of the family have their time with her.

Next, her father looked at his daughter carefully. "Amaryllis. I cannot lose you like I lost my mother for so long. It's hard to lose a parent, but it's even harder to lose a child, and I got my mom back, but I can't get you back."

"Is Gramma Iris coming?" asked Lis.

"She wanted to talk to you separately. I don't know why."

"I don't know either." Amaryllis did know why. And she was quite thankful that her grandmother had made that decision.

Finally, Lis turned to her older sister, Iris. "Be there for everyone, please? I don't know how everyone else will interact if things go badly. And I want to make sure everyone is OK, as best as you can." Iris nodded and blew her sister a kiss.

Suddenly, the Peacekeepers burst in and took most of her family out, leading in Amaryllis's grandmother, also named Iris. Lis knew that the relationship between Iris and her son, Lis's father, was strained, to say the least, but she was grateful to have her grandmother in her life; she was the only person who Lis felt that she could genuinely trust.

"Amaryllis, listen to me," commanded her grandmother. "I know that the way out of dying here is pretty simple to most people, because commanding Garnet's love seems to be the best way. But you need to remember that, if you get Selected, he might pick you in the end. And you don't want to be stuck with it. You know that."

"I think I could love him. Maybe."

"Honey, you're asexual. And you're non-binary. It's not your fault that here in Eleven, being straight and cisgender is very much the norm."

Amaryllis had been questioning her gender and sexual identity for years. She had only told her grandmother about her troubles a year before, and her grandmother had been more than supportive, encouraging her granddaughter to follow her heart.

"But if I could be safe, and help the kids be safe?"

"Lis. You don't want an arranged marriage. It can, more often than not, be detrimental to your ability to love, your ability to live, and strain your relationships with everyone involved. My arranged marriage ended five years after it started, when my husband left me. Now, if you had a capacity for sexual desires, I'd say maybe. But I don't think that you want to be cooped up in a relationship that you don't want to be in. We all know that you'd be unhappy with Garnet; don't put yourself in a situation that you wouldn't want to potentially be stuck in.

"I love you so much. Do whatever you can to win those Games, OK?"

And with that, Iris left, giving her granddaughter a lot to think about.

* * *

 **So here are our four ladies from District Eleven! I'm so excited to finish the Reapings; we are so, so, so close!**

 **Standard questions here: who do you like? Who don't you like? Who is Garnet picking?**

 **I don't know how long it'll take me to get District Five out; I'm in tech for my school play right now, which might not seem like so bad, but the show is so complex that, even though I'm in the ensemble, I have so much to do in the show to help out the crew and to make sure I make all of my entrances. I'm hoping for Thursday or Friday of this week, but no promises.**

 **I can't wait to see you guys back for our last District Reaping; we'll still have two more after that to go before we can really get the ball rolling!**

 **See you all soon!**

 **-goldie031**


	18. District 5 Reapings

_Khara Imperium, 15_

* * *

Khara began her day by watching the monitors that displayed the output of each generator in the power plant.

Khara was the youngest junior manager in her parents' plant, one whose job was mostly to power District Five, unlike some of the larger plants, like the Zachery plant, which send the energy created there to other Districts. Granted, she was the youngest of three junior managers, but she still liked the title. Because she was the daughter of the owners, putting her in harm's way near the generators wasn't something they wanted to do; this put her in a perfect position to hone her attention to detail skills by detecting tiny fluctuations in output. Any minor difference could eventually lead to major consequences, possibly including power outages, which would cause problems for the larger plants. So, it would certainly suffice to say that Khara's job was important.

She had spent about an hour so far watching the generators that morning, and things seemed to be going pretty well. Usually, there was at least a minor fluctuation after the generators were turned on in the morning – usually, about half of the generators in the Imperium plant were on at night, while they were all turned on during the day – but things had gone quite smoothly so far that day.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

She'd spoken too soon. The monitors in front of her were spiking and dipping an alarming rate; it would hardly be difficult for even a small child to notice that something was horribly wrong. This was not the first time that Khara had dealt with this problem, but she'd never seen it happen so severely.

"OK!" exclaimed Khara. "Get Backups 1, 2, 6, and 7 working, and shut down Gen. 4, 19, and 20. We'll keep doing so until we can stabilize each generator."

Over the next two hours, Khara and her team worked around the clock to stabilize the power plant. Normally, they would kill the whole plant and put on the seven backup generators, giving them enough time to figure out what was wrong and fix the problem. Though this would cause outages in Five, and, because of the impact her plant going down would have on larger plants, in parts of Ten and Eleven, it was the fastest way to fix the problem. But she knew that, of all days, today was one where the power could NOT go out in the other districts, meaning that she had to keep enough generators running to make sure that power didn't go out in Five. At the same time, if non-functional generators ran for too long, they might explode, as her parents learned in the Great Generator Escapade in the year of the 114th Hunger Games. Khara knew from the moment she saw the monitors freaking out that the next few hours or so would be a delicate dance, so to speak, to make sure that everything and everyone survived.

After about an hour of working, Khara found the source of the problem. Her parents had been made aware of the problems with Generator 13 a few days before, but had failed to do anything about it. Now, something had totally busted inside it, leaving some of the other generators to need to work more to pick up the slack, and causing them to malfunction.

"Mom! Dad!" Khara yelled. "This is a problem! We've got like five generators that aren't working!"

"Khara, we're doing the books now," yelled her mother from the office that overlooked the plant.

"Now! I need help now!"

Khara's father came out onto the balcony. "Honey, keep some of the backup generators running, an equivalent number to the generators that aren't working. We can fix the belts tonight, but it should keep things going through the afternoon. Good?" Khara nodded. "OK. Keep the first five backups on and shut down the five that aren't working. We'll probably have to convert Backup One to a regular generator for the time being."

Finally, after another hour and a half, the plant stabilized. Khara took a deep breath, finally allowing her to relax and sink into a chair.

Hopefully, that was all of the bad luck she'd have on Reaping Day.

* * *

 _Phoebe Nightingale, 18_

* * *

As on many other stressful mornings, Phoebe enjoyed going downstairs to listen to her mother's music. Canary was lucky that she'd married the Victor she loved, because it enabled her to afford the instruments that created the gorgeous sounds her twin daughters loved so much. (The two did love each other very much; Ali had so much respect for his wife that he took her last name.) The music calmed Phoebe, and could even provide for her; unlike her twin, Phoebe's stature would most likely prevent her from performing any physical tasks, so she'd need to find some other way to help take care of her family. If she could find a way to use her musical skills and her father's fame, even her Disproportionate Short Stature couldn't get in her way.

It was genetic. That was what they'd figured out when her father had her tested on one of his trips to the Capitol after she was born. They'd tried growth hormones, surgeries, anything they could, and nothing worked. Luckily, her parents had found another solution; they'd modified a room in their house in Victor's Village with everything at a much lower level to help Phoebe out, but Phoebe knew that her life would be much more difficult had she been born to someone who wasn't a Victor.

"Good morning, darling," said Canary, looking up from the piano keys. "Do you want a turn this morning?"

"Sure," replied Phoebe. She moved the bench closer to the piano so her hands could reach and then sat on the bench, her feet dangling off of its edge. But when she closed her eyes and touched the keys, any physical marker went away; she felt the music through her hands and make its way to her soul.

After a time, Phoebe's father came downstairs, and gave his daughter a kiss. Phoebe turned around and gave her father a warm embrace. "When does Aisha get back from work?" he asked.

"About two hours before the Reaping," replied Phoebe. "I think she'll have enough time to get ready, though."

Ali nodded. Reaping day was an anxious day for Phoebe's father, a natural reaction for any former Victor. But today's anxiety was a little bit more pronounced than normal; Ali knew that today was the last time in a long time that he would really have to worry about losing someone. He rubbed his daughter's back, gave her another hug and kiss, and returned to his room, which was normal for him to do on Reaping Day.

Phoebe turned her attention back to the piano, where she focused for the rest of the morning on her new piece of music. It was challenging at times, but she enjoyed the movement of her fingers along the keys and the process of feeling the music through her body. At lunchtime, she took a break before getting dressed for the Reaping in her favorite, fancy, frilly black dress, which had been tailor-made for her. She then put on a necklace with a charm of two connected eighth notes, one of which was lower than the other, which was often what she felt like when she thought of her and her sister, who was just under double Phoebe's height. She brushed out her dark brown hair and put it in its standard long ponytail. Then, Phoebe picked up the guitar for a little while, singing along to the music she played.

It turned out that Phoebe had been right. Aisha got home exactly two hours before the Reaping, giving her just enough time to shower, change, and walk right out the door. Phoebe was often surprised with just how long it took Aisha to get ready to leave the house. But finally, the family was ready to leave for the Reaping.

As they walked to the town square, Phoebe held her mother's hand. She really hated that she had to, but she was so small that she would often get swallowed up by the crowds, especially on Reaping Day, as they'd learned three years prior. This way, they could at least make sure that Phoebe got to the town square safely; getting to the correct section posed more of a problem, but at least Aisha was there to help. Unfortunately, this also meant that Phoebe basically had to run to keep up with her mother. Granted, she was pretty used to it by now, but it still annoyed her every time.

Canary helped maneuver her daughter through the crowds, using her gorgeous voice to shout at everyone else to move, making sure that there was a clear path for her daughter to get through. Finally, they made it to the check-in table; Phoebe and Aisha got their fingers pricked, and then the taller girl led the shorter one to the section of eighteen-year-old girls.

District Five had exactly five living Victors, but six mentors; Astrid Evans's escape from the Fourth Quell had set her up as someone who could come in and substitute, and she'd actually managed to bring home Five's last Victor, Alana Wright from the 107th Games, after Luna Puede, who won the 58th, Lyla Orit, who won the 77th, and Brinna Ride, who won the 103rd, all had to back out for various reasons, leaving Astrid to work with Phoebe's father, who had won the 96th Games. Luna didn't mentor much anymore, as she was the oldest living Victor at age 83, and though it would make sense for Astrid, who took part in a Quell, to mentor for a Quell, it was a widely accepted fact that she did nothing to earn her status as mentor, especially in a year with so much on the line; as a result, the four mentors standing on stage in front of Phoebe were Brinna, Lyla, Alana, and her own father. Standing next to the Victors were the two escorts for the year; the primary escort, Elias Presstoni, was well known for their exuberant and lively personality, and had been in Five for a while now. The secondary escort, Petal LaFeather, had six years of escorting experience under her belt, but had taken a three-year-break before returning to help for the Quell.

After speeches and an agonizing wait, it was time to draw names for the Fifth Quarter Quell.

"Khara Imperium," announced Elias to the anxious crowd. A girl stepped forward from the section of fifteen-year-olds, only displaying a confident smile as she approached to the stage, to Phoebe's surprise.

Elias picked out a second slip. "Pandora Zachery." Phoebe was shocked by the name. The Zacherys ran the biggest power plant in Five, so naturally Phoebe recognized it, but she certainly didn't expect one of their children to be reaped.

"Erin Mochurn-Fuego." A girl from the twelve-year-old section cried out in shock, turning many of the heads in the crowd to her. Phoebe watched the tiny brunette move forward towards the stage; she seemed almost unable to comprehend what was happening.

Finally, Elias drew the last name. They glanced at it in shock before reading it to the crowd. "Phoebe Nightingale."

A fear like Phoebe had never known sprung up in Phoebe.

How was she supposed to get out of the Games when she had promised her father never to kill?

* * *

 _Erin Mochurn-Fuego, 12_

* * *

The first person to come to visit Erin was her friend Vivian. The two were mostly associated because of Erin's parents' desire to keep their daughter close to rich people; though they shared some common interests, it was sometimes tough for them to really feel like friends. Erin was surprised that Vivian came in first, before her parents, but decided to put it aside for a moment.

"How are you feeling, Erin?" asked Vivian.

"Not great, to be honest," Erin replied, giving her friend a sheepish smile.

"Which is to be expected. You have to do whatever you can to convince Garnet to like you," commanded Vivian.

"OK, you know the problems associated with that," Erin almost scolded her friend.

"I know. But let's be real, I don't think you have a shot otherwise. There is the potential for twelve Careers in the Games this year. That's scary."

"You don't think I know that either?" Erin exclaimed.

"No need to explode at me."

"I know. I'm just scared. Like, on the one hand, this could be the perfect escape from everything, but on the other hand…"

"I know."

The two fell silent momentarily. It was a bit awkward, but both felt comfortable in the presence of the other. After a few moments, Vivian got up to leave. She stood at the door, then turned around to Erin again. "Good luck and goodbye, Erin. And Marco says goodbye too." And with that, she was gone.

Then, Erin's parents and sisters came in. Erin was close to her siblings, but didn't see them all that much anymore.

"Erin, honey, you need to stay safe, OK?" said her mother. "Things could be so bad if we lose you to these Games."

"I'll do my best, Mom," Erin replied. "I don't know how much I can do."

"You can sort of fend for yourself," said her father. "Try to find an ally who can help you out, though. And if you come back, we'll increase your stiped with Tyler."

"It'll be hard this year to find an ally, though," interjected Erin's older sister, Iris, "because there are so many older tributes. I've been keeping up with the Reapings; you're one of only seven under fifteen. But I still think you can do it!" she finished, clearly trying to cover up for what could have been considered a slight gaffe.

"I'm gonna miss you," said Xyla, the youngest of the three. "It's gonna be weird not seeing you."

"I'll try to come back, Xyla," said Erin. "I promise."

"Look, Erin, there's not much else to say. Winning will give you all of the money you could ever want, probably about what we could provide you. But you have to make sure that you're still associating with the wealthy. That's something you should be taking into consideration when forming those alliances. Interacting with poor people is not OK, and we have a right to disown you if you don't listen to what we say," instructed her dad.

"Can I have some time alone with Iris before I leave?" asked Erin. Her parents agreed, taking nine-year-old Xyla out of the room and leaving Iris with her sister.

"Xyla got so lucky that she got assigned to a boy her age, and her crush to boot," exclaimed Iris. "When did you hear about her assignment?"

"It only happened a few days ago. But yeah, I agree."

"Oh, Erin. What am I going to do without you to vent to about things? He doesn't treat me well, and you know that."

"I know. I guess, if I stay in the Capitol, you'll have to write to me, but I don't think that's going to happen. Garnet isn't going to pick someone who is already married, you know?"

"But you have to try. Plus, he could be your ticket out. Imagine if I had a ticket out! You could even help me out if you get picked and my husband can't move out of Five."

"I don't know what I can do, Iris. I hope my mentors and escorts can help me to do these things so that I can relax during the Games."

Iris reached into her pocket and pulled out an origami flower, then handed it to her sister. "Here, this is for you. For your token." Erin carefully took it from her older sister, and gave her a huge hug before she was led away by the Peacekeepers.

It was a little while before Erin's husband, Tyler, came in to the little room. Erin was getting quite impatient; if things were going to happen, they needed to happen now! Finally, he came in and took a seat across from his wife.

"What took you so long?" exclaimed Erin.

"I wanted to make sure that you had enough time with your family if you needed. Is it OK for me to give you a hug today?" Tyler replied.

"Fine," she said. Tyler pulled her into a warm embrace, which Erin returned robotically.

"I hope you know that I care for you very much, Erin, and I really hope that you are able to come back in some way. I want to be the one to see you grow to adulthood, and to maybe, if you're OK with it someday, raising a family together. I love you, Erin."

 _But as a wife? Or as the pedophile that I know you are?_ Erin thought, before replying with a curt nod.

"Good luck," said Tyler finally, before leaving the room, realizing that he wasn't going to get anything more out of his wife. Erin was left deep in thought; if nothing else, these Games were finally her chance to get away from the assigned marriage she never wanted.

* * *

 _Pandora Eurydice Zachery, 16_

* * *

Pandora was certainly not thrilled to be going into the Games with a Mochurn. As one of the other more well-off families in the District, she knew all too well about the habits of the Mochurn parents; they were notorious for spoiling and bribing their children and for assigning marriages to their kids at age nine to keep them close to other wealthy families. She was also generally shocked by the fact that there were three other families who felt the same way. Luckily, her family was of all girls, and so they'd never even been asked to marry a Mochurn, but Pandora knew that her parents would have said no.

The first people to visit Pandora were her parents and three sisters. The youngest, Andromeda, threw herself into her older sister's arms. "Dora, I'm going to miss you! You have to come back!" she exclaimed.

"I'm going to do whatever I can," Pandora replied, fighting through her soft tears. "I want to come back. I really want to!"

"Use your social skills with Garnet. People like you, and you're good at getting to know them," instructed her older sister, Siena.

"But don't ignore your training," interjected Elodie, the oldest of the sisters; she, Siena, and Pandora were Irish triplets. "Remember, we don't know how this is gonna go, and if you totally ignore training days to focus on Garnet, and then you get picked, you're screwed."

Pandora nodded; though she knew all of the information already, she didn't want to cut off her family, who may well have been seeing her for the last time.

Suddenly, her mother, Cadence, burst through the door. "I could just barely get off of work to see you. I have to run back, but I want you to know that I love you more than anything in the world and I want nothing more than to see you return home." She gave her daughter a huge hug before running back out the door. Pandora was used to that; as the manager of a large power plant, Cadence was always busy, but she still made a point of being there for her parents as much as possible.

Finally, Pandora's father, Bryden, came up to her. "I brought you this picture," he said, wiping a singular tear away. "So you remember us." Bryden gave his daughter a silver frame with their latest family picture. "I love you so much."

Pandora gave her father a huge hug. "I'm gonna miss you," she sobbed. "All of you. What am I gonna do when you're away from me?"

"You're gonna survive and thrive. Because that's what you do every day."

And then the Peacekeepers came in, and her family was gone.

Then, Pandora's friends, Miri, Willow, and Cerise, came in. Being on the wealthy side of Five, Pandora had access to extracurricular activities that many of the poorer people couldn't afford, and that included the gymnastics team that she and her friends were on.

"Pandora, you know you have something that nobody else does, right?" said Miri, trying to encourage her friends. "Gymnasts are so agile and so flexible. Like that girl Finch from 50 years ago who was also on our team at one point."

"I forgot about Finch," marveled Pandora.

"She was stealthy, and she was smart and fast. Kind of like you," added Cerise.

"Hey, but I'm not nearly as quiet as she was. You guys know that. She's one of, like, 17 girls from our team to be Reaped over the course of the Games, but she was by far the quietest one of all of them. Nobody else could be as good as she was, or as accurate in her motions and where she stepped The girl who tried that strategy before Finch did stepped right into a trap because her foot was off by half an inch."

Miri replied, "But if you don't try, you're gonna have no luck. The strategy worked for Brinna."

"That's true as well."

"But wait," interjected Willow. "There's still the Garnet option here. And stealth absolutely won't work when it comes to Garnet. You need to make yourself well-known enough to get him to notice you and pick you, but not well-known enough that the Careers think about you. Which is difficult to do, but you have no other option."

The Peacekeepers burst in again, separating Pandora from her friends, Willow's words left sitting in her mind.

Did she really have no other option?

* * *

 **WE DID IT! WE MADE IT THROUGH THE DISTRICTS' REAPINGS!**

 **For the most part.**

 **But we're pretty much there.**

 **A bunch of important things here, so please read this author's note carefully. First of all, the standard questions: Who'd you like? Who didn't you like? Who is Garnet going to pick? And who do you think will ally with whom?**

 **Secondly, I wanted to clear up a few notes on this universe's canon. It's based mostly off of the events in my story** **Rue Returns** **, which is a bit of a painful read as I wrote it at age 12, but in a nutshell, Rue was an experiment in reviving tributes from prior Games to serve the Capitol's purpose and then went to live with Katniss in Twelve. Other important changes are that Peeta was never Reaped, but still married Katniss, because Gale was Reaped for the Third Quell, the twist you can read in the first chapter.**

 **Thirdly, we've hit our first check-in point! I don't like to use reviews as a way to check in, though it's a good marker for me, but these questions are a great way for me to see where you're at. If you submitted a tribute, please send me a PM with their favorite color, as well as their favorite color to wear; this can totally be the same thing but it doesn't have to. This also goes for the tributes we haven't met yet, like our Capitol ladies and a few other auxiliary characters that we'll meet next chapter.**

 **I think that covers it. Our next chapter will introduce us to two other little ladies who are in a bit of an interesting position, and then we'll see the Capitol Reapings mixed in with a little Reaping Recap.**

 **Thank you all so much for your support, and I'll see you soon!**

 **-goldie031**


	19. The Backup Plan

**If you are a submitter and have not sent in your first check-in yet, please check the A/N at the end of the last chapter for more info. Thanks!**

* * *

Amethyst Emerald knocked again at the door of Ruby's suite. Her older sister peeked out of the door.

"Any further problems?"

"Nope, none at all."

"Good. Did all of the slips come in?"

"Yes."

"Let's go, then."

Amethyst escorted Ruby to the next-door Games Center, all the way to the basement. There, a giant bowl was sitting, as a bag of slips was being added to it. In the room were seventeen other individuals, Ruby's Games Fairness Council, which ensured that the Reaping bowls weren't rigged, and that everything was done fairly during the Games, without targeting any tribute in particular. The head of this council was Amethyst's daughter, Lavender, who personally checked every single district's slips to make sure that the correct number of slips were in the bowl for each tribute, and that each slip was watermarked with that district's seal, as a matter of security. It was a painstaking job, but Lavender's stellar eye for detail, cultivated from a young age, helped her to ensure the fairness that Ruby so desired.

"So every district's extra slips are in this bowl, right, Lav?"

"Correct," said Lavender.

"Did you pull out extra slips from those who were Reaped?"

"Nope. Didn't have the time or energy; if you pick one, you can just discard it."

"Fair enough." Ruby turned to address the Fairness Council. "We are about to select the names of two more girls who will serve as our backup tributes. These two will train with the other girls and have the opportunity to tape an interview with Caesar, but will not be revealed to the public of Panem in any way unless fewer than 24 Reaped District girls are not selected. Does that make sense?" Everyone nodded; even if they didn't understand, they didn't want to tell the president that, and so they would ask each other for an explanation later. "Good. In this bowl are all of the slips that were not drawn from a bowl. We will mix the bowl up by spinning it around and then draw out two slips."

Ruby closed the hatch on top of the bowl and began to spin it around. After a few moments, she righted the bowl and drew two slips from the bowl, holding each up to the light to determine its watermark.

"The two backup tributes are Lavender Aroma, from District One, and Nyx Mynier, from District Twelve. I'm going to ask that Petal Harson travel to District One by hovercraft to inform Lavender, and Aurelia Marnoy travel to Twelve for the same reason. Please read them this information," said Ruby as she handed a purple envelope to Petal and Aurelia, "and good luck."

* * *

 _Nyx Mynier, 16, District Twelve_

* * *

After the Reaping, Nyx returned to the orphanage with the rest of the kids. Normally, she worked in the mines, but Reaping Day was a day off of work, and so Nyx was glad to capitalize on a day to rest. She was certainly glad to have made it through another year of Reapings; now she only had two more to go before she was free forever.

Nyx sat down on her bed and took her honey-blonde hair out of the braid she'd put it in for the Reapings. She ran her fingers through it before putting it up in a high ponytail, then carefully unbuttoned her black boots before putting them next to her mattress.

Suddenly, she noticed a little girl crying next to her. She turned around to see Aisha, one of the twelve-year-olds in the orphanage, sobbing on her mattress.

"Are you OK, Aisha?" asked Nyx, moving over to the little girl's mattress.

"I'm just scared."

"But you're fine. You didn't get picked."

"But so many other little girls did. Four girls that are so close to my age are going to the Capitol. And they might not come back!"

"But they still might. Garnet might pick them this year. They're lucky that this is the Games they were Reaped in to. The odds were less in their favor, but they have a good chance of coming back."

"I could still be Reaped next year, though."

"You still have a whole year until then. Don't let it freak you out yet."

Aisha looked at the older girl. "Thanks, Nyx. You're a great friend."

"No problem." Nyx carefully moved away from Aisha, who had stopped crying. She was always willing to help out and be there for people, but her parents' death in the mines had made her wary of actually being close to anybody.

The Reaping was in the afternoon, and lunch had been a bit rushed, so the kids were given the option to have a quick snack before dinner. Nyx grabbed a biscuit made from the tesserae that each child in the orphanage was required to take out before going to sit on the bench outside of the orphanage, watching the younger kids play outside with their one ball. Nyx remembered the day earlier this year that the ball had gotten stuck on the roof; one of the older boys had put a kid on their shoulders to try to get it down. It took three full hours, but the joy that the little ones had shown when they finally got the ball down had made everyone feel a little bit warmer inside.

Eventually, Nyx joined in on the game of kickball, being careful to kick it lightly to give the younger kids a chance. She would have preferred to sleep, but was a bit too riled up from the events of the day, as was normal on Reaping day, and so decided to give in to the kids. Nyx was quite good at putting the ball in play just enough to let the little kids field it, and ran just fast enough that they could feel like they actually had a shot at getting her out.

Suddenly, Nyx noticed a Peacekeeper and a woman in a frilly pink dress come to the orphanage. Everyone turned to face them, the little kids running behind Nyx for protection.

"We are looking for a Nyx Mynier," said the Peacekeeper.

"Present," said Nyx, raising her hand. She knew better than to try to deceive a Peacekeeper.

"Do you live in this orphanage?"

"Yes."

"Please escort me to the office of the matron."

Nyx did as she was asked. She took the Peacekeeper and the other woman into the orphanage, and led them to the back, where the matron, Mrs. Lustor, was sitting in her little office. As soon as she saw the Peacekeeper, she stood up. "Good afternoon. What can I do for you?"

The woman in the pink frilly dress took out a purple envelope, opened it, and read off of the paper. "Good afternoon. The twist of the Fifth Quarter Quell required the selection of two backup girls, who would fill in just in case there were empty spots after Garnet selects his 26 ladies. From a bowl of all of the slips not picked this morning, your slip was picked. We do not know whether you will participate in the Games or not, but you will be required to join us in the Capitol for training and for the interview process just in case. Please say your goodbyes and join us outside. You may bring a token with you, just like any other girl going into the Games. Lastly, we ask that you keep the details of this conversation confidential unless you enter the Games this year specifically."

Nyx was shocked. She had escaped the Reaping, and now this was what was going to happen to her? She had twelve slips in the bowl out of what must have been hundreds of thousands. What were the odds?

* * *

 _Lavender Aroma, 12, District 1_

* * *

Lavender was shocked. She had one slip in the bowl out of thousands and thousands. What were the odds of her getting picked?

"Mom! Mom! Mom! I might get to go into the Games this year!" she exclaimed, running out of her room where the woman with the green skin had read her the letter from the Capitol.

"Really, honey? That's so exciting!"

"My ten years of training will finally pay off. And I'll win, and be great!" Lavender began jumping and running around the house, unable to contain her excitement about finally being able to fulfill what she'd been training for, and at least four years before she ever could have been considered by the Career academy. "I guess that modeling gig will have to wait," she squealed.

"Lavender, just remember one thing," said her mother, who had raised her alone since birth, as she corralled her daughter. "You're dealing with older Careers here too. As skilled as you are, and ten years of training will give you lots of skills, they're bigger and stronger because they're older. If you go into the Games, stick with them; they know what they're doing too.

"And don't let your other skills slip. Just because you'll be doing more training for the Games doesn't mean that your violin and dance training should fall through the cracks. Also, don't forget, graceful movement works better than whatever the heck you're doing."

"Yes, Mom," said Lavender. "I know I'll be coming back, though. I'll be the youngest Victor since the Hatch twins!"

"I know you will, and I'm so proud of you," said her mother, giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead. "Do you have a token?" Lavender held up her favorite spray bottle; it was, naturally, a pretty shade of lavender. "Are you sure?" Lavender nodded. "OK."

Lavender turned to the green-skinned woman. "Can I tell my friends about this?"

"No. We need to keep this confidential. Your friends will find out if you go into the Games this year, and if not, they should never find out."

"OK," relented Lavender. "Can I go put on my dress again so I make a good impression? Mommy made me change to train a little bit after the Reaping."

The woman nodded. "But we have to go soon to catch up with the other girls on the train."

Lavender ran up to her room and put back on her shiny lavender dress and favorite lavender sandals. She sized herself up in the mirror: long lavender blonde hair, recently dyed from its natural black, narrow brown eyes, very tanned skin, muscular and fit body.

Exactly the look of a future Victor. Though maybe a bit shorter than people would expect.

* * *

 **So this was a shorter chapter, but it was planned as such; we only met two girls here. Just so we understand, these two will only go into the Games if Garnet picks none or one of the Capitol girls who we'll meet next chapter. I know we didn't get to see too much of them, especially of Lavender, just the way the chapter flowed, but I hope you got a good sense of Lavender and Nyx!**

 **Let me know what you thought of those girls! I hope to get the Capitol girls' chapter up in the next two or three days.**

 **Thanks for everything, friends!**

 **-goldie031**


	20. Reaping Recap and Capitol Name Drawing

_Jemimah Puddle, 16_

* * *

As usual, Jemimah woke up staring at her ceiling, which had been painted to look exactly like Fragonard's The Swing. It was her favorite painting, and waking up and seeing the picture every day always gave her a great early morning energy boost.

But today, she didn't really need an energy boost. Today was the Drawing of Names for Garnet's selection, and though she, like every other Captiol girl, only had one slip in the bowl, she knew that there was a shot that she could be Selected. And that made her very excited.

Just like any other girl her age in the Capitol, Jemimah had grown up being completely infatuated with Garnet. He had grown up almost completely in front of her eyes, always on stage in his trademark garnet-red bowtie and cummerbund. And she, like so many of the girls in her grade at school, had grown up dreaming of marrying him. Today, four Capitol girls would take the first steps towards that dream coming true, and Jemima hoped that she would be one of them.

"Jemimah!" called her mother, Beatricia. "The Two Reaping starts in ten minutes! You don't want to miss it!"

Her mother was right. Jemimah didn't want to miss the Two Reaping. She quickly got out of bed and put on a blue and white, Lolita-style dress; she knew that she wanted to wear it for the Drawing that night and anticipated not wanting to change later. Then, she went downstairs and poured herself a bowl of Marshmallow Crisp cereal. "Good morning, Mom," she said. "Can we turn on the TV in here to watch and eat at the same time?

"Of course," conceded her mother.

"It's so exciting that they're starting with Two this year," remarked Jemimah, as she poured strawberry milk into her bowl, looking at the Reaping schedule that was distributed to every house in the Capitol. "I always know that the tributes from Two will go far."

Suddenly, the seal of Panem appeared on the TV; it then disappeared and was replaced by the faces of the two commentators, Harli Saleman and Dorian Muir. The former generally served as the host while the latter was the announcer, but they did the commentary together.

"Good morning, Harli, and welcome to the Reapings for the Fifth Quarter Quell," Dorian began. "It's always exciting on Reaping morning to see who will be given the honor of serving as their District's tributes."

"This year is especially exciting with the addition of Garnet's Selection," added Harli. "Good to see you as well, Dorian," she muttered, before returning to her prior point. "It'll certainly be special to see which of these lucky ladies becomes the next member of the first family. And of course, we can't forget about our four Capitol ladies, who will be introduced to us live at the end of the full recap tonight."

"That's right, Harli. For the first time in Hunger Games history, the Capitol girls will have a taste of the anticipation and excitement of being Reaped to represent their district, without the danger of dying in the process! It's a win-win!"

"Capitol audiences will notice one major difference this year in the Reapings. Each district will have two escorts instead of the usual one, in case their district is divided between the Games and the Selection, to help make sure that all of the ladies Reaped today have the proper supervision."

Dorian suddenly touched his finger to his left ear. "I'm getting word that we are ready to get the Reapings underway! Let's throw it live to District Two and their primary escort, Krysanthi Merlot."

Jemimah squealed with excitement as the screen flashed to District Two. She wasn't much of a sponsoring person, but she was concerned about potential competition. And that was dangerous.

As Jemimah watched the Reapings take place, Krysanthi directing the proceedings, she couldn't help but focus on the commentary given by Harli and Dorian.

"You know, Harli," said Dorian in a voice reserved for golf commentary, as the second volunteer, as a girl with golden blonde hair wearing black dress pants and a plain light blue blouse stepped up to the stage, "my sources told me that Two didn't settle on their volunteers until yesterday."

"That's interesting," replied Harli. "Usually, Two decides first, then One decides after that. I guess things went the other way this year."

The commentators fell silent to watch the rest of the Two Reapings. Once all four had volunteered, Harli piped up again. "So, we have what looks like four volunteers from Two. What are your thoughts?"

"I like the look of Vixyn, the redhead. She is solidly muscular, no doubt about that!" replied Dorian.

Harli nodded in agreement. "But you can't count out Bellona Terminus. She is the granddaughter of the legendary Enobaria, and her brother Orion also won his Games. So she too must have great training."

"What do you think of the other two, the Lovarre sisters?"

"Well," thought Harli, "Janari is quite young for a Two girl at only sixteen; I can't remember the last time there was a tribute from Two that was so young. But she does have the protection of her older sister Carissa."

"Who do you think Garnet will pick from this bunch?"

"Hmm," Harli began. The commentators continued making small talk and predictions about the Games, until Dorian touched his finger to his left ear again.

"Well," said Dorian, "we're ready to go live to District Eight for their Reapings. Let's see what happens!"

As the morning continued, Jemimah noted down the names of the tributes. _Tistera. Silver. Singer. Weave. Thyra. Nanami. Bonnie. Pacifica. Arieyn. Delilah. Ravi. Incredible._ She made notes next to all of their names: who is pretty, who looks too fierce, who has been training, who is probably a Selection girl.

Suddenly, she checked her watch. "Mom, I promised Alicia that we would go to the museum together today. I know that neither of us are gonna die or anything, but things could be very different after today."

"OK, honey. Just stay safe." Jemimah gave her mother a kiss, and left the house, ready for a slight break from the pressure of who could be her competition. All in all, she couldn't help but wonder what that night could bring.

* * *

 _Lahainah Pele, 18_

* * *

Watching the Reaping was one of Lahainah's favorite activities. She remembered fondly days spent together with her family; on most days, they were too lazy for her liking, but Reaping Day was the one day in her life that Lahainah was OK with lazing around.

"Lahainah, come back to the couch! District Six is on!" yelled her littlest sister, Luleelah. Two years separated each pair of Pele siblings, and the four girls, Lahainah, Lunah, Lilah, and Luleelah were all eligible for Selection that day.

"I'm coming, Lulee," Lahainah groaned. One and Two were her least favorite districts to watch, because the outcome was always predictable; almost undoubtedly, there would be four volunteers. So she was glad that they had gotten those two out of the way in the first third of the Reapings.

Lahainah returned to the couch, put her snack down on the table, and braided her long hair. The roots were yellow, then it became orange, then red, then black at the tips, a perfect gradient of warm colors; it reminded her of fire, her favorite element.

It was the preference of the Pele sisters to avoid the commentators, because they found Harli and Dorian annoying; unfortunately, there was only one channel for the Games, so they watched on mute instead, relying on the graphics with the names of the girls on them.

"Six is always painful for me to watch," said Lilah, the tiniest and sweetest of the four, even though she was not the youngest (she was fourteen).

"Why?" asked Lunah, who was the boldest at sixteen.

"You can clearly tell who are the morphlings," Lilah sighed. "Look at that one." She pointed to the second of the four girls to be Reaped, Elysia Hall. "She's clearly a morphling. So thin."

Luleelah shook her head. "It's so sad that they have to resort to that. There are so many other ways to be happy."

"But not all of them are like that," pointed out Lahainah. "Look at that one. Ferrari. She's thin, but looks much stronger."

The girls fell silent as they watched the other two girls, Danira and Drenaline, get Reaped. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Luleelah exclaimed. She ran through the house to the door, and opened it, then turned back and yelled, "Lahainah! IT'S YOUR BOYFRIEND!"

"You don't need to project it to the world, Lulee," groaned Lahainah, then went to answer the door. When she saw the tall, chiseled figure standing on the other side of the doorway, she shooed the baby of the family back to the couch and smiled shyly. "Hi, Hephaestus," she swooned.

"Hello, darling. How is your Reaping day going?"

"Well, thank you." Though they had been dating for a few months, Lahainah still found herself feeling lucky to have her boyfriend in her life. "Do you want to watch with us?"

"Sure," Hephaestus said as he came in with her, "but I can't stay for too long. I have to go back home and help out my parents."

"OK." The two sat down across from the TV. Lahainah picked up the coffee table book that they had, an book of ancient myths and legends. The first time Hephaestus had come over, the two had pored over the book for hours; now, they looked at it every time, as kind of a tradition. They continued to look through it until the next Reaping started in District Seven.

"Ooh, I like her," said Lunah, pointing at the first girl Reaped once they were all standing on the stage. "She's pretty. And I like her dress. I want to sponsor her… Euodia."

Lahainah hadn't decided who she wanted to sponsor. But she did like the vibes she was getting from Elizah; something about people with red hair made her happy. But not Freida. Freida wasn't giving her good vibes. "Who do you want to sponsor, Hephaestus?"

"I generally don't like to decide on a sponsor until I've seen everyone, but I do like the look of Nadina. She's got some fight. And Garnet won't pick her."

"How do you know?" asked Lilah.

"I don't know for sure. But I have a hunch," teased Hephaestus. Then, he checked his watch. "I have to go. Good luck today, Lahainah. I don't know what will happen if you get picked." He gave his girlfriend a kiss and then left.

Lahainah sat back down on her couch, lost in thought for a second. She had forgotten that today was the day that she could be taken away from her family and boyfriend, and forced to be put in contention for Garnet. She'd always dreamed of doing something with her life, but this wasn't exactly what she wanted that to be.

* * *

 _Varinia Jonet, 18_

* * *

Varinia looked at her brother Vaith's notes about the girls from Nine and Twelve. She had to go take a picture of some Reaping celebrations for her school photography class, and so ended up totally missing those two districts; as someone who always made a point to sponsor a tribute, she wasn't quite sure how she would decide.

 _Volunteer – Cayman Rye_

 _Reaped – Melvina Crusoe_

 _Reaped – Kylis Divola_

 _Volunteer – Dania Kesten; commentators said that she was Kylis's girlfriend? Don't know how that happened._

 _Nine impression: Unremarkable as usual, except for two volunteers._

 _Reaped - Brooklyn Cherry, seemed small but merchant-class, and really dazed_

 _Reaped – Douria Hovello_

 _Reaped – Brietta Westwood, strawberry-blonde?_

 _Reaped – Millicent Jones, seemed to be quite sick._

 _Twelve impression: Little. All of them are little girls. No way Garnet will pick them, so I'll definitely consider sponsoring them._

Varinia's favorite district to watch for the Reaping was District Three. It was a well-known fact in the Capitol that tributes from Three were most likely to not be cisgender and/or straight; being around computer parts all the time, they often grew up to disregard and/or completely ignore the gender with which they were born. For Varinia, that was the validation she needed when she was younger. For each of three years, from the 115th Games to the 117th Games, there was at least one transgender tribute from Three. Varinia had never felt so valid than seeing people who felt the same way she did, that they were born into a body in which they didn't belong. Vorea, her older sister, still didn't accept that she was Varinia; she still felt that she had a brother named Valentino. But the representation from Three made Varinia feel so validated that she didn't care nearly as much as she used to. And she also felt lucky that she lived in a place like the Capitol, where she could be altercated to look like the person she felt she was. It wasn't so easy in the Districts.

"I wonder how things are going to go this year," said Vivia, the mother of the Jonet siblings. "I know you love Three; who are you going to sponsor?"

"We'll see how it goes. I'm not so worried about that yet."

"Do you want to listen to the commentary?"

"Sure. They always seem to know more about the tributes than I could possibly imagine."

The peppy voice of Harli Saleman filled the room. "We're now going to turn to District Three, the technology district. This district is known for its Queer tributes, so I'm excited to see how they turn out this year!"

"Yes," said Dorian. "Representation is a key for the kids from Three; they've exposed our country to so many people who are not in the gender binary. Let's turn to the long-time escort of Three, Khione Grenaider."

The factories of Three appeared on the screen; it was so different from the Capitol, but it seemed so interesting, and a place Varinia definitely wanted to visit.

"Muire Spencer," announced Khione.

"Well, this tribute is an interesting one," said Harli, as Mu made their way to they stage. "They identify as something called genderfluid, which means that they fluctuate between identifying as male, female, and somewhere in between."

"The last time we saw a genderfluid tribute was in the 123rd Games, and the only genderfluid Victor was Ares Lits from Two in the 108th."

"Pix Drexel," said Khione.

"We don't know that much about Pix," admitted Dorian. "It does say here that she has spent her whole life programing and working with computers, and so understands life by zeroes and ones."

"That's interesting. So does she think of humans as computers?"

"Potentially."

"Sugar Voltas," added Khione.

Varinia immediately noticed that the person who came up to the stage didn't look feminine at all. She noticed the person who came up to the stage whisper to the secondary escort, and saw the subtitles explaining what they were saying: "The slip should really read Drew Voltas."

That was a transgender tribute. And Varinia was going to do whatever she could to sponsor them.

* * *

 _Lilith Holly Russe, 17_

* * *

The loudspeakers going all across the Capitol blared out a message. "All girls eligible for Selection today, please be at the main stage in 25 minutes. You may continue to watch the Reapings from there."

Lilith stood up from her couch, and gave her parents hugs. "I'll see you two later, one way or another. Fingers crossed!"

"Fingers crossed for you," smiled her mother, who gave her daughter a hug and a kiss.

To get to the door, Lilith had to pass by her room; as her dress for the night was not the most comfortable, she decided to put it on right before she left. The dress was gorgeous: an emerald-green mermaid dress with no straps and a black beaded pattern on the left side of her chest. She pinned her hair up into a pretty bun, making sure that the reddish-brown highlights showed through her black hair. She did her makeup to show off her eyes, genetically altered ice blue with streaks of emerald, and put on some blush to make her cheeks look rosier. She had to make a good first impression today for the people of Panem.

But not for Garnet.

As Lilith walked towards the Main Stage, where all of the Hunger Games events took place, except for the Chariot Rides, she thought about her history with Garnet. As she was the daughter of the two most important Hunger Games doctors, she had spent much of her childhood growing up with him. The two were often at the same social functions, and knew each other pretty well; Lilith definitely had a crush on her comrade. She'd hoped that he would see it sooner rather than later, but no dice, and now it was too late to really act on it; Garnet was already deep into this mess.

She just had to hope that the odds were in her favor.

When she got to the Main Stage, Lilith noticed that there were many other girls there, milling about in their finest and fanciest dresses. She was kind of confused as to why it was so early; she knew from all of her parents' Games-related meetings that the Drawing of Names wouldn't be happening until after the Reaping Recap. But she knew better than to miss this; if she wasn't there, she too could be punished, but, more importantly, wouldn't be considered for Garnet at all. And that would be bad.

She eventually came to a table where she checked in by getting her fingerprint scanned. Lilith still couldn't understand why the districts didn't use this system; it was much cleaner and more sanitary than the pricking thing.

After more milling around, during which the Ten Reapings were broadcast – Lilith registered that Peach, Cheyenne, Lennox, and Eloise were Reaped, but didn't think much of any of them – a woman came onto the stage. "Hello, ladies. My name is Portia Andeers, and I am in charge of all of the Games-related ceremonies. What we are going to do right now is a dress rehearsal for the actual Drawing tonight. The names of the girls that will be drawn, however, cannot be selected tonight, because they are all Garnet's cousins. So, please watch what they do; if you are picked tonight, you will have to do the same thing."

Lilith tried to pay attention. She really did. But she really had no interest in which way to walk and which way to turn; she was much more interested in studying the girls around her. She was someone who was against extreme altercations, so she couldn't understand how a girl standing in the section behind her had blush tattooed on her cheeks, pink, waist-length hair, and purple eyes with a heart eyeball tattoo on her left eye.

"Did everyone get that?" asked Portia. All of the girls nodded. Nobody had actually listened. "Good. A quick reminder that nobody may decline the spot they've been selected for if their name is drawn, there will be no volunteers, and that everyone has their name in the bowl once and only once. Please stay here until the Drawing of Names; we will also show the Reapings in Eleven and Five."

It was only a few hours until Lilith's life could change forever.

* * *

"Are you ready, Garnet?" Ruby asked her son, tapping on his door. Garnet and his stylist emerged, the boy in his standard garnet-red bow tie and cummerbund. "You look so handsome. I am proud to have raised you, and to now see you marry."

"Thank you, Mother," Garnet said curtly. He still wasn't sure what to think about the whole situation, but he was certainly feeling more comfortable around his mother after their talk that afternoon.

"Let's go to the Main Stage. I'm sure Portia is getting anxious."

"Is the Whole Family coming today?"

"No, it'll just be you and me in the box with Aunt Amethyst. I think it'll be better that way." Ruby gave her son a rare smile and led him towards the Main Stage.

When they got there, Portia escorted them to the President's Box, where Amethyst was waiting. Garnet's aunt gave him a red notebook. "I'd advise making notes on the tributes you see in the Recap today. It's hard to keep track of 52 girls," she smiled. "But you can do whatever you want."

Garnet looked down at the notebook, and flipped through it, pleasantly surprised by the stark white quality of the paper. He decided that writing was a good idea, and so pulled out the pen attached to it; he loved the way that the gel pen wrote on the paper as he wrote his name on the inside cover in flowery script: _Garnet Coriolanus Emerald_.

After a little wait, the large screen erected in the Main Square blared to life, as the Reaping Recap began. Ruby focused on the screen, anxious to obtain a first impression of the girls who could become her daughter-in-law. She saw 48 girls Reaped representing a wide variety of races, classes, and somehow even genders. In her eyes, the 48 were a true sample size for the beauty and grandeur of Panem.

As the District Twelve Reaping finished up and the program cut to commercial before the Drawing of Names, Ruby glanced over at her son's notebook. She noticed that the names Khara, Phoebe, Pandora, and Erin were on the page to which the notebook was open; when she turned the page, she saw Amaryllis, Rain, Maddison, and Narcissa. "Why is Eleven on the backside of the page for Five?"

"I used only the fronts for One through Six, but then I thought that it was a waste of paper, so I wrote on the backs for Seven through Twelve," Garnet explained. "I'm going to write my impressions when I get home tonight."

"Anyone stand out?"

"A few. I want to see the whole field, though. And there are four more girls to go."

Suddenly, Horn of Plenty blazed on the loudspeakers, and a man dressed a flashy gold suit took to the stage. Ruby hadn't wanted to hire Byzantine Copius that year – he was always sucking up, and had a tendency to act in an overly flashy manner, trying to get the interviewer role that Harli was so good at – but with the number of escorts needed and with Petal Harson and Aurelia Marnoy really not ready to escort yet, she had no choice; she and Amethyst chose to put him with the girls least likely to be annoyed by him, the Capitol girls.

"Hello, world!" he exclaimed. "My name is Byzantine Copius, and I am thrilled to be the escort for our four gorgeous representatives of the Capitol! Let's get on with our live Drawing of Names!" The crowd of girls cheered and squealed excitedly as he reached his hand into the bowl. "Jemimah Puddle!"

An excited shriek came from the section of sixteen-year-old gIrls. Ruby saw a pink-haired girl with porcelain skin wearing a blue-and-white Lolita dress excitedly make her way to the stage. She looked a bit strange for Ruby's taste, but that was the luck of the draw.

"Lahainah Pele!"

Ruby was shocked that the tall, orange-skinned girl coming out of the section of eighteen-year-olds looked annoyed to be Reaped. She'd purposely set it up so that nobody could decline a spot to make the Drawing more similar to the Reaping, but hadn't expected anyone to actually not want to be there.

"Varinia Jonet!"

 _Another tall eighteen-year-old,_ thought Ruby. She was considerably more normal looking, her skin a light tan and the only real visible altercation the iridescent streaks in her long, dark brown hair. She was calm, waving and smiling happily to the crowd.

There was one name left to go. Ruby almost felt the anticipation in the air, the energy of hundreds of girls wanting it to be them.

"Lilith Russe!"

Ruby's head shot up at the mention of the name; it was one she recognized, as that of the daughter of the Games doctors. Lilith hand grown up around the Games Center, and so she had seen and heard about a bit too much in her day for Ruby's liking, but it was not her biggest concern. And for now, the Selection of Lilith was a good thing; she didn't know if Garnet would pick her, but she at least was confident that there was one girl who he knew and around whom he would be comfortable.

* * *

 **We did it! We now know all 54 of our contestants between the Selection and the Games. ;) I'm so happy to have hit this milestone!**

 **Please remember to take opinions about the tributes in this chapter with a grain of salt. These are the characters' opinions, not mine.**

 **Same standard questions: Who'd you like? Who didn't you like? Who is Garnet going to pick? A Quick note for my friends making charts: none of the Capitol girls can go into the Games, so keep that in mind when counting tributes. Twenty-six will be in the Selection one way or another, and 24 in the Games.**

 **I'm going to be doing the train rides next. I'm fairly confident that we'll get to see each contestant at least once more time before we start the Games. More rules about the Selection will also be revealed soon. :)**

 **See you all in the next chapter. Thanks again for your amazing support!**

 **-goldie031**


	21. Train Rides, Part 1

**PSA to everyone making charts: I got a tribute's name wrong. It's Lahainah. Thanks AmericanPi for pointing that out.**

 **On to the Train Rides!**

* * *

 _Kylis Divola, 18, District Nine_

* * *

Once Kylis and Dania finished their goodbyes, they were led to a car to take them to the train station, which was located exactly halfway between North City and South City. Once the doors were closed, Kylis exploded.

"Why in the world did you volunteer?"

"What do you mean why didn't you volunteer?" Dania glared. "I volunteered because I can't imagine my life without you."

"But Dania," Kylis groaned, "we're dating. Garnet isn't going to pick anyone with a significant other back home, at least I doubt it. And if we both go into the Games, only one of us can win."

"But I'd rather be dead with you than alive without you," grumbled Dania.

"And if I win and you don't? You don't think I'll feel the same way?"

"If we make the final two we'll figure it out then. But Garnet could still pick both of us."

Kylis was getting more and more fed up. "I JUST TOLD YOU THAT HE WON'T PICK BOTH OF US!" she yelled. "We're dating. That's the biggest strike against us. Clearly, you didn't think this through. Of all the times to not think about things."

Kylis needed to calm down, so she pulled another cigarette out of her pocket, lit it, and began to smoke.

"Kylis, stop smoking!" snapped Dania. "You know that I hate it when you smoke."

"Give me a break!" yelled Kylis. "I need a stress reliever."

"Fine."

The two fell silent as the car drove towards the station. It was a bit of a long drive, making the ride slightly awkward. Kylis also felt a little tension between the two of them; this was far from their first fight as boyfriend and girlfriend, despite their close relationship, but it had never felt as tense as this. Suddenly, a plan began to formulate in Kylis's mind, a way to at least save Dania; Kylis had much better odds in the Games than her girlfriend, and she wanted to find a way to increase Dania's chances.

Finally, the car pulled up to the train station, exactly at the same time as the car from South City. The four girls got out of their cars and sized each other up, as the reporters' cameras flashed; would they be able to ally? Would they want to? Would they be each other's competition for Garnet? How about for the Games? Then they boarded the train, and the doors shut, as the wheat fields of District Nine began to pass faster and faster.

The tributes made their way to the dining area, where they found the four mentors and two escorts sitting around the table. Durum looked around and, when Sarah Sheaf gave him a gentle nod, began.

"So, the mentors have decided which tributes they are going to work with. Sarah will be with Kylis, Sophie will be with Dania, Riker will be with Cayman, and I will be with Melvina. Your mentor will do their best to help you out with getting into the Selection or, for that matter, the Games, if that is something that you want to do for whatever godforsaken reason that appeals to you. We're going to do one-on-ones with the mentors now, so they'll go back with you to your compartments and start to help, if they can. Kronos and Boebette will be circling around at some point to check in and say hi, and to get to know you; at this point, the plan is for Kronos to focus on the tributes going into the Games and for Boebette to help the people whom Garnet selects. Go!"

Kylis followed Sarah to her compartment and sat on the bed across from her.

"So what can I do to help you get into the Selection?" Sarah asked bluntly.

"To be honest, I don't know what you can do to help me," Kylis replied. "I'm a lesbian."

Sarah sighed. "I mean this in the best way possible, but is there even a chance that you're bisexual?"

"Nope. Not at all."

"OK. So I'm glad you and I were put together," admitted Sarah, beginning to formulate a plan in her head. "At the very least, I'll be able to help you with the physical aspects of the Games more than someone like Sophie would. Do you have any idea of a weapon you'd be good with?"

Kylis thought for a moment. "I've done some work with a scythe?"

"OK. That's at least a start. I don't want to overwhelm you with strategy now, but we'll be sure to talk later on. I'm going to do whatever I can to bring you back home."

As Sarah got up to leave the room, Kylis exclaimed, "Wait." Sarah turned back around. "Can I ask you for advice about something?"

"Of course," replied Sarah, and she returned to the bed.

"So Dania and I are dating." Kylis let the news sink in before continuing. "She's bisexual, so she has a chance of being attracted to Garnet, and she's also just much more of an agreeable person than I am."

"So what are you asking me to do?" Sarah asked. She was helpful, but not quite as bright as her sister."

"I'm figuring that Garnet won't pick anyone who is dating someone currently, and I want to do whatever I can to help Dania's chances to keep her safe.

"So I need help breaking up with my girlfriend."

* * *

 _Vixyn Kearne, 18, District Two_

* * *

"I want to make sure we're all on the same page with the plan," instructed Enobaria, as the tributes from Two settled into the train. "We have a lot to go over, so bear with me; you will still get personal mentoring time later." Enobaria and the girls sat down at the table as the two escorts and twelve other living Victors from Two surrounded it. Everyone listened intently to Enobaria as she began to explain the plan.

"First of all, know that our goal is getting Janari into the Selection. We're going to need to do everything in our power to get her there, too – that goes for everyone, escorts, mentors, and other Victors alike. I do not want her blood on my hands; she has no training, and we have ensured her that she will come out of this alive. I do not intend to go back on my word." Everyone nodded; when Enobaria ensured something, nobody wanted to get in her way.

"Now, the next order of business is picking the Pack Leader. Our oldest tribute from the district is Carissa." Vixyn was ready to scream; she was much better trained that Carissa and had been a selected Volunteer long before Carissa had been picked. For a few weeks she'd been getting trained on how to lead the pack; now, she'd be overruled because of some girl who was only in the Games as an offshoot of a stupid Selection. "But," continued Enobaria, "the 'older tribute leads the Pack' rule only came into play because it was often difficult to directly measure the skills of the male tributes to those of the female tributes. So, because Vixyn is ranked above Carissa on her class list, and older than Bellona, we're going to ask her to lead the pack this year instead."

Carissa nodded. "I'm fine with that. If Janari does go into the Games, I'll want to focus on her rather than on leading the Pack."

 _As you should be,_ thought Vixyn. _That's the way it should be._

"Good. So Vixyn will lead the pack," continued Enobaria. "Now, the other thing we might have to deal with is one of you three not getting picked. I want to make it clear that I don't have nearly as much control over that as we will have in getting Janari in, though it certainly would be possible with your backgrounds that Garnet will be super easy in that regard. But, I want to make it clear that I won't be upset if Garnet doesn't pick you because he genuinely likes you.

"That doesn't mean that you can just give up, though," Enobaria clarified. "We expect you all to be trying your hardest in training to get into the Games; you were trained and picked for that, so we expect that you will deliver."

 _Maybe Enobaria is getting soft in her hold age,_ thought Vixyn. _I know it's out of her control, but you'd think she would get madder about it._

"Now. We are going to have to make some changes to the mentors. I totally forgot in the chaos of picking four girls to volunteer that we need to involve all living Quell Victors in mentoring because it's a Quell. So, Belle, you'll be working with Smash Hatch instead, and Vixyn, you'll work with Crash. So those are final mentoring assignments, but you'll be able to get help from everyone anyways.

"Any personal strategy decisions can be made with your mentors; we don't object to you two working together on this, but we don't necessarily think it's always the best call, especially after the inevitable breakup of the Career pack, when you might want to keep personal strategy decisions away from other people. Any big questions?" Nobody responded. "Great. Is there enough room for everyone on the train?"

"Well," Krysanthi said, "Ember and Stallion will share a room as usual. You have yours, Mason and Delphine will share, we have one for Zareth, one for Mesa, Hannibal and Ares usually share, so that would leave us with one for Orion and one for Arabelle. Do we have enough?"

"The twins, you, and Petunia."

"Right. So not quite enough. Let's do Ember and Stallion, Mason and Delphine, Zareth, Mesa, Hannibal and Crash, Orion and Ares, Smash and Arabelle, I guess, and then Petunia and I will share."

"This gets more complicated with every Victor we get. OK. Take some time in your rooms before lunch. We won't end up leaving for a while, because we're so close to the Captiol, so just hang tight for now."

* * *

 _Drew Voltas, 16, District Three_

* * *

"I want to mentor Honey," said Byte, before the train doors even had a chance to close. The other two mentors, Linus and Jones, were kind of surprised at the ferocity coming from Byte; they didn't expect her to want to work with a tribute so ferociously in just her first year of mentoring.

"Sounds good," Jones agreed. "I think it'll make the most sense for me to mentor Drew, as he's the only guy…"

"No," proclaimed Drew, who was still dressed as Honey. "We are a package deal, Drew and I."

"I don't mind," Byte insisted. "One of us would have had to mentor two of them anyway. Let's go to one of your rooms." She led the twins to what would eventually be Drew's quarters and sat on the bed, motioning for the twins to sit across from her. "Tell me about yourselves," she began.

The twins gave each other a look. Drew knew exactly what Honey was thinking: should they tell Byte their secret? He nodded, telling his twin without speaking that yes, this would be a good idea. Slowly, Drew brought his hand up to his head and pulled the wig off. "So, actually," he began, handing the wig back to his sister, "I'm Drew and that's Honey."

Byte's jaw dropped. "Did you two switch places for the Reaping?"

"Yep," Drew said. "If I'd been smart, I wouldn't have volunteered as Honey and I would have switched places with her in the goodbye room. But she's really the smart one who thinks things through, and I panicked." Honey nodded, a little smirk forming on her face.

The room fell silent as Byte took a second to think. "Why did you start switching places in the first place?"

"Well," said Drew, "I'm a trans male. I used to be named Sugar. When we were little, Honey and I liked to play pranks on our teachers and stuff by switching places because we're identical. Honey realized that she felt more confident when she had to pretend to be me; I was always the braver and crazier of the two of us. So we began to do it more and more. It got more difficult as I transitioned, but then Dad got us the wig, and we figured it out. I love seeing Honey blossom when she acts as me; it's so much better for her!"

A smile crept onto Byte's face. "That's so sweet! I think, though, it's going to be better for you two to stop trading places. At least for now. Drew, you're not really going to be able to be considered for the Selection; while we don't know exactly what Garnet's sexual orientation is, from the context of Ruby's announcements I would personally assume he's straight. I'll try to work with you, and maybe also enlist Jones to help as well, on physical skills and stuff. Honey, we're going to work with you for the Selection, and see what we can do." Honey shot Drew a look, but he held out a hand, to tell her to wait for Byte to answer.

"What I will say, however," continued Byte, "is to definitely tell Garnet about the changing places thing. If things go wrong for whatever reason, which they shouldn't, we want him to know who is actually who. Is there an easy way to tell the two of you apart?"

"Well, Drew's tooth is chipped," Honey piped up, "and mine isn't."

Drew nodded. "That all sounds good. Can we have some time to switch back now?"

Byte smiled again, nodded, and left the room.

Immediately, Honey burst out in tears. "I don't want to be split up, Drew. I want you with me!"

"Honey, there's not really anything we can do about that. I'm pretty confident that I'm going to end up in the Games, so I want to do what I can to help you get Selected," Drew comforted his sister as he slipped off her token, their mother's wedding ring. He offered the ring to Honey, who slid their father's wedding ring off of her finger and gave it to her brother.

"If you get pulled in to that Games mess because of me, I am one hundred percent switching with you."

"No," commanded Drew, "you're not. We need to listen to Byte here. She managed to win, and she knows what to do help us out. And the way that you're going to be safest is by staying in the Capitol."

"But I don't want to be that far away from you!" whined Honey.

"Let's discuss this later. We need to change. Go put on another outfit so I can give you these clothes." As Honey went into the bathroom, Drew sighed. What was he going to do with his twin?

* * *

 _Delilah Ainsley, 16, District One_

* * *

As the girls from One were milling around between lunch and dinner, Gloss said, "OK, girls, we have a surprise for you." Suddenly, the lights in the dining area turned out, and Josan Lorenx, One's Victor from the 75th Games, came in holding a cake, seventeen lit candles stuck in it. The Victors in the room suddenly broke out in a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday to Delilah. The youngest girl of the One tributes blushed, her cheeks turning a remarkable shade of red.

"It's your birthday?" asked Creddi.

"It was yesterday," Delilah clarified. "I just turned sixteen."

"Wow, you're young to be picked as a volunteer," remarked Ravi. "You're just sixteen, right?"

"Yeah, but I was mostly picked for the Selection, not for the Games. That's your job," Delilah smiled. Arieyn returned the smile politely, Ravi nodded, and Creddi was completely oblivious. As usual.

"Cake?" Delilah cut a slice of the cake and offered it to Arieyn.

"I'm good," said Arieyn, who checked her watch before pouring herself a glass of some sort of fruit juice. She took a vial out of her pocket labeled with a 1, took out the cork, and poured it in the glass. Then, she drank the whole glass of juice in one shot. Delilah was quite confused, but when she shot Arieyn a look, she got no response or acknowledgement. She figured she'd find out eventually.

Suddenly, Gloss's pocket started ringing. All of the girls turned towards it as Gloss pulled a thin black box out of his pocket, tapped it, and spoke into it. "Hello? President Emerald? No, the train hasn't started moving yet; we're too close to the Capitol for us to start before the end of the Recap. Uhuh. Uhuh. OK. Will do. Thanks, Madam President. Goodbye!" He tapped the phone again. "DAMN IT!" he yelled, slamming the box down onto the table.

"What happened?" asked Incredible.

"OK, we're going to need to change our mentors around a bit," said Gloss. "Trienda, you're going to stay with Arieyn," he thought out loud, "Capek will work with Ravi, Jasper with Delilah… OK, Josan, you'll switch over to Creddi."

"What about me?" Tyranny whispered to Gloss, but not quietly enough that Delilah, who was sitting right next to Gloss, could hear. "I was kinda looking forward to the challenge of Creddi, and plus, don't I have to be involved in some way because I'm a Quell Victor and it's a Quell?"

"I'm getting there, Tyranny," cautioned Gloss, then turned to the rest of the group. "So I just got off the phone with President Emerald. The Capitol picked two girls to serve as backup tributes just in case not enough girls are going into the Games."

"But how does that…"

"Not important right now, Arieyn. Basically, the two girls reaped were picked from a bowl containing all of the slips that weren't picked from all of Panem, and Lavender Aroma from our district got picked."

Delilah's mouth fell open. "No. Not Lavender!" she exclaimed. She'd been training with Lavender in her class for a few years now, and she knew exactly what she would be up against if Lavender was in the Games. Suffice it to say that it wouldn't be good.

"Yep," Gloss confirmed. "Lavender got picked. Along with a girl from Twelve."

"What's the big deal about Lavender?" asked Ravi.

Delilah jumped in. "She was a shoo-in to volunteer when she got older. Her mom is absolutely insane and crazy – people call her a tiger mother – and forced her to start training when she was two; when the Academy didn't let her, her mom trained her herself until she turned seven. She's in high-level classes for sixteen-year-olds in the Main Academy at only age twelve, but she's so small that she won't really be able to contend."

Everyone else nodded. There was no worse thing that not only having a designated volunteer sent into the Games, but for that person to have potential for when they got older.

"We won't know for sure if she'll go in or not until after Garnet makes his picks; it's a 50% chance if Garnet doesn't pick three of the Capitol girls and it will be a 100% if he doesn't pick any of them. Right now, the only ones who know about it are us and Twleve. The other tributes will find out at the beginning of training, and the public will only find out if the backup tributes come into play. But anyway, Tyranny, we'll need you to mentor Lavender. Like Delilah said, she's small, but she'll be a surprise to the others.

"Ravi, you're going to be our Head Rep for the pack, so you need to put in a good word for Lavender. I know you didn't train with her because she's from the Main Academy, but you can ask Delilah. She's a killer, but I think we'll want her to be more of our secret weapon. Lavender should also be joining us any minute."

As Gloss said that, the train door slid open, and a tiny girl dressed in a purple dress came on, escorted by a green-skinned woman. "I'm Petal," said the woman, "and this is Lavender. She's now in your hands. Good luck!" Petal left, and the door slid closed.

"Hi Lavender," said Delilah. "Want some cake?"

* * *

 _Millicent Jones, 13, District Twelve_

* * *

The four younglings settled in on the train, taking in their extravagant and unfamiliar surroundings. Katniss started by settling the girls in around the table, to help them adjust and make sure that they didn't get overwhelmed; this was something she tried to do with all of her tributes, but especially when they were younger.

"Now, we're going to need to handle mentors pretty soon, but I'll give you guys some time to think. The one piece of advice that I can give you is to ally together; you're all young and being able to stick together is always a good thing, especially when there are so many older tributes. Obviously we don't know what Garnet is thinking…"

"But we're so young," said Millicent, "that I don't know if he'll want to waste picks on people that he couldn't realistically marry."

"Yeah. I wasn't gonna say that. But we're gonna try our best to help you get Garnet to like you to up your odds," admitted Katniss. Suddenly, her pocket began to ring. Katniss pulled out a little box, tapped it, and held it to her ear. "Hello? President Emerald! How are you? Yeah, we have to leave right away to make it to the Capitol with enough time for remakes. Uhuh. Uhuh. OK. When the train refuels, we'll wait a bit longer for her. We'll live. I can pull double duty, I guess. I'd rather not bring in another mentor. Of course. Yeah. Thank you. Goodbye, Ma'am."

Delilah, the slightly younger Laurel twin, turned to Katniss. "Pulling double duty? Are we getting another tribute?"

"Yep," groaned Katniss. "The Capitol did some sort of weird backup reaping thing, and it basically means that we're getting a fifth tribute, named Nyx, but whether or not she goes into the Games is dependent on…"

"Garnet's decisions," chorused the tributes.

"Yep. What we've been told is that she cannot be considered for the Selection at all, so I'm going to have Damien mentor her, because you might not be the best person to help girls learn how to cater to Garnet, yeah?"

"Sure," said Damien. "You're probably right."

Katniss thought for a second. "Let's have Lilac work with Brooklyn and Delilah work with Millicent," she suggested, "because the ages just line up so nicely. We never get that lucky. And I'll work with Douria and Brietta. Everyone OK with that?" Everyone nodded. "Great! The one thing that I think all of the mentors would agree with is that it's best for you guys to ally together as a district. We don't know who is going to end up where, but if you guys ally together and then maybe find other allies too, you'll have pretty good odds."

 _The odds haven't really been in my favor as of late,_ though Millicent, but she nodded in agreement with the other three tributes.

Millicent broke off with Delilah, and the two went to Millicent's room. As soon as she sat down, Millicent broke out into another round of coughing.

"Are you OK?" asked Delilah.

Millicent sniffled, "I'b kinda always sick. But by dad and sister are albost always worse, so I kind of deal with it."

"Do you want some medicine? I can get you a little something now, but we won't be able to get some heavy-duty stuff that'll really fix you pre-Games until we get into the Capitol."

"That would be dice."

Delilah smiled. "I'll be right back," she consoled Millicent, before running out of the room for a moment. She then returned with a small plastic cup full of bright red liquid. "This might not taste great, but it'll help your cough stop, at least." Millicent eyed the red stuff, then took a sip. The taste made her whole body shake, but she would notice over the course of the day that the cough would get much less severe. "OK, let's try to figure out the Games thing," said Delilah. "What could you be good at?"

"Well, I like flowers. I brought this one as my token!" Millicent held out a pretty blue flower, the color of the sky. "I found it in the Meadow."

"Have you ever played with the flowers and the grass and such?"

"I like picking them. I made a flower crown once."

"Perfect. When you get into the training, try to check out the weaving station. Maybe you can find a way to learn to make ropes and stuff. Do you have any ideas for weaponry?"

Millicent looked at her arms, then back at Delilah. "Something light and where I don't have to be too close to someone."

"Your best bet is going to be either darts or knives. Darts tend to be easier to learn, but you might as well take a stab at both." Millicent giggled. "No pun intended."

Millicent noticed suddenly that the train had stopped moving. "Why'd we stop?"

"To refuel," Delilah answered, "and I guess also to pick up the other tribute, Nyx. Wanna go meet her?" Millicent nodded. She and Delilah got up and walked backed to the dining area as the door of the train opened and a girl entered. She was clearly older, and appeared to be stronger. Nobody wanted to say it, but everyone was thinking the same thing: If all five were to go into the Games, it would probably be Nyx who would come out as Victor.

* * *

 _Lennox Silverson-Smith, 16, District Ten_

* * *

"Look, there's really no optimal situation here," admitted Bat, the oldest of the District Ten mentors. "We don't know who is going to be involved in the Games and who'll be in the selection, but the odds of all of you being picked are, in our opinion, kind of slim. So, the mentors and I were thinking that the best solution in this case would be to ally within the district."

"Agreed," said Michelle, the youngest of the Victors. "I was also told to ally with my district partner, and we managed to both get to Top Eight. It certainly can't hurt."

The girls looked around uneasily. It was Lennox who spoke for the group. "That's a good idea!" she exclaimed. "This way we can work on strategy on our floor without having to worry."

"Sure…" said Cheyenne tentatively.

Eloise added, "I'm OK with it."

"It'll be great!" exclaimed Lennox.

Bessie interjected, "In terms of personal mentors, Michelle is with Cheyenne, Bessie is with Peach, Vlada is with Lennox, and Bat is with Eloise. You'll have the time to work out individual strategy later. For now, it's time for dinner." The twelve sat around the table and allowed the dinner to come to them: chicken soup with starchy spheres in it; steak, mashed potatoes, and gravy; chocolate cake for dessert. Most of the girls had never tasted food this rich; Cheyenne couldn't help but wonder if she'd once known the cow that became that steak.

"Now, after dinner, we're going to be watching the recap of the Reaping for all of the Districts. Keep your eyes out for any other potential allies," said Hawk. "Unlike Michelle, allying with my district partner didn't work so well for me; her ineptitude nearly got me murdered. Also, make sure to think about who could be potential Selection competition. We're focusing on the Games, and I think a lot of other districts are too, but that is certainly a potential outcome for all of you, and we need to make sure that we are all prepared to handle that. This is also a good opportunity to see if you can discern who Garnet will pick and who he won't."

The mentors, escorts, and tributes found their way to the compartment where they settled in around the television. The anthem of Panem played, and the recap was underway.

Lennox watched as the eight girls from One and Two volunteered, finding herself completely unsurprised by the turn of events. Eventually, things blended together, the volunteers from Three, Eight, and Nine standing out almost as much as the Career from Four who didn't want to be Reaped. Lennox couldn't quite understand why someone would volunteer for the Games; she understood the Careers, who trained for their whole lives to fight, but she didn't quite understand the others. Everyone, she thought, has to have something to live for back home; nobody could be desperate enough to want to give it up.

Once the recap was done, Lennox and her mentor, Vlada, returned to Lennox's room. "What are your thoughts?" asked Vlada.

"Do you think that the district alliance will work?"

"You know," Vlada signed, "I'm not sure. While I do think it's your best bet, it can't hurt to look for other allies as well. A backup plan, you know? That was my strategy when I was in the Games; I tried to make as many alliances as I could. Nobody was really mad about it, though, because many outer district tributes (in my Games, at least) were really desperate to survive and tried everything they could; only one of my allies survived the Bloodbath. But that doesn't always work. It depends on the year. There are so many unknowns this time around…"

"I know," said Lennox, fiddling with her mother's wedding ring on her neck, and longing for the day that would hopefully come where she could see her siblings again.

* * *

 **Phew! That was a tougher chapter to write than I expected. I had to rewrite a few parts again, but I think it was pretty good!**

 **So I don't really have any specific questions for this chapter, so I guess I'll leave it at "What do you think?"**

 **Also, if anyone has any chariot outfit ideas, feel free to leave them in your reviews. Any district is acceptable; I have a few ideas but I'm not sure for some of them either. So help would definitely be appreciated. Additionally, if anyone would be willing to help me with some world-building with my mentors, I'd definitely appreciate that** **. I'm mostly trying to fill in the last few in this universe before I go into detail with many of them, though I do have a good amount of detail on quite a few.**

 **Thanks so much for your support to this point. I'll see you next chapter!**

 **-goldie031**


	22. Train Rides, Part 2

_Phoebe Nightingale, 18, District Five_

* * *

Phoebe couldn't sleep.

She couldn't figure out if she'd fallen asleep at one point or not, but it felt to her like she'd been awake for hours. The possible outcomes of the next few days weighed heavily in her mind; how could she reconcile her morals with the prospects of the actions she'd need to take?

There was only one person that Phoebe knew would understand her predicament. She had traveled on this train before, and so she knew where she could find him. Phoebe put on a pair of socks and walked through the train cars, until she came to the compartment where her father always stayed. She carefully tapped on the door. "Daddy?"

"Who is it?" groaned her father.

"Phoebe."

"Come in, honey."

Phoebe cracked open her father's door and snuck into his room, intentionally allowing as little light as possible in. She crawled into her father's bed and curled up next to his side. "Hi," she whispered, burying her head into her dad's chest; one of the nicest things about being so small is that she could still fit curled up next to her dad.

"Hi, baby," Ali said softly. "You haven't done this in a very long time. I miss cuddling with my baby."

Phoebe nodded. "I'm just scared. I don't know what I can do."

Ali sighed. "What do you mean?"

"How can someone survive if they don't want to kill?"

"First of all, don't forget that the Garnet route is a totally valid escape route. You can definitely be picked by Garnet."

Phoebe exclaimed, "No way! He wouldn't pick me!"

"Phoebe, you can't judge yourself by your appearance," instructed her father. "You are much more than what you look like. Plus, if his mom has anything to say about it, having a Victor's child in the mix might not be a bad idea," added Ali under his breath.

"But what if he doesn't?"

"You're gonna do what you're gonna do," said Ali. "But I'll let you think about this. Would you rather live with something you'll regret for your whole life, or die knowing that you've always done things the way you were raised? Morals are important – that's why we raised you on them.

"You don't have to figure all of this out now, though. You need some sleep." Phoebe felt her father's hand on her back, rubbing around and around until she fell into an uneasy sleep, her mind swirling with doubt about how to handle the situation she'd found herself in.

* * *

 _Thyra Sereno, 18, District Four_

* * *

Thyra had woken up early, before the rest of the girls from her district, to ensure that she could have a little time alone with the Victors from Four. As the lone volunteer from Four, not to mention the oldest tribute, Thyra was automatically Four's Pack Lead, but she needed to know enough about the other tributes from the Career districts to help her go about things well. The traditional briefing on the morning after the Reaping was restricted to the Volunteers from Four, meaning that this year it would just be Thyra with the Victors.

Despite being seen as a Career district, Four only had six living Victors (Finnick, Annie, Amphetrite, Zander, and the mother-son pair from the 61st and 89th Games, Mariana and Tace Arroyo), both because of the custom of children taking apprenticeships with their parents and because of the recent collaboration between One and Two, so it wasn't hard for Thyra to get some time with all of them. Though she would get advice from all of them, it was Mariana who would be giving Thyra the briefing as the oldest living Victor and therefore the representative of the Victors' Council.

"I finally got the dossiers from Enobaria," said Mariana. "I'm glad she's still nice enough to me to at least give them to us before the Tribute Parade. We'll go over everything now from those dossiers, and then talk through the other girls from our district as well." He propped up an easel to begin writing things down.

"So Two's Pack Lead, and therefore the overall lead, is Vixyn, that fiery redhead we saw last night."

"That was the one with the scars on her wrist, right?" Thyra asked, jotting down notes in her notebook.

"Yeah. From what we got from Enobaria, we've heard her top weapon is twin battle-axes. But, on the other hand, Vixyn has a temper that can flare up at any time. Keep an eye out for that; it could be dangerous when the pack breaks up. The second trained tribute is also gonna be a doozy. Her name is Bellona Terminus. Yup, she's Enobaria's granddaughter, and her brother is Orion from the 114th Games. She uses to use dual hatchets, a great match for Vixyn's battle-axes. Keep an eye out for her as well; I would definitely not count her out.

"The third tribute is named Carissa Lovarre. She's third in Vixyn's age group in the Academy, but they pushed her above the second-place girl because of her sister, Janari, who is their Selection-oriented tribute. Meaning that she has no training."

Thyra was shocked. She'd never heard of Two sending in an untrained tribute intentionally. "Really?"

"Yeah. Two wanted to stack the deck towards the Selection with sympathy, so Janari is definitely not going to do well. The only reason she agreed to do this was if her sister was to go in with her, because of the risk of, y'know, dying. That's not to say that Carissa isn't skilled. She's good with swords and such, but she's not quite as good as the other two. She's also going to be very concerned about Janari if Janari goes into the Games, so keep that in mind. With me so far?"

Thyra nodded. She wasn't completely used to the volume of information coming towards her, as she'd always been taught in a very hands-on way, but she knew that this could be the most valuable information she'd hear in her life.

"Good. Now, it seems like One was going to use a similar strategy, too. Their idea was to have two and two, but that both Selection tributes would have training. Well, that would have worked great if there hadn't been a rogue volunteer."

Thyra's eyebrows went up. Clearly, things weren't going in a normal way for the other Career districts. That could certainly work out well for Four.

"That girl is named Incredible Grant. She has a lot of years of training under her belt, but would honestly rather party. Which doesn't bode well for the other girls. Gloss even thinks that she would be less of a help and more of a hindrance in the pack."

Thyra exclaimed, "Wow. Is she that bad?"

"We've heard she's more annoying than anything else, but remember that she has at least rudimentary weapon skills, which Janari doesn't. You'll have to scout her out in training. Moving on.

"The other Selection girl from One is named Delilah Ainsley. She's pretty well-trained, and would do decently well in the Games, but the mentors from One want her in the Selection. They think she'll get there, too, mostly because of her backstory and family history. I don't know the details, but apparently, it tugs at the heartstrings. Her weapon is the bow.

"Then there's Ravi Waterford. She doesn't use any weapon other than a staff, but she's well trained in martial arts, and therefore can wreak havoc with her body. But she's pretty powerless against weapons that the Two girls can use, or a weapon like Delilah's bow, if it comes to that. So it's a mixed bag from her."

"So what I'm hearing," Thyra said slowly, "is that she won't be their Pack Lead."

"Correct. That goes to the fourth girl from One, Arieyn Occissor. Arieyn has a weapon that she can use well, and that's projectiles, because she's phenomenal with poisons. Those are the most deadly things that you could possibly get, and so she'll be a valuable but dangerous resource.

"So with that knowledge, how do you want to handle the three from our District? Remember, regardless of what you think, there's still the Career Pact: no matter what, we do not kill anyone from any Career Districts until there are only Career District kids left."

"I wish I could say that we should lean on Pacifica, but she's too volatile," Thyra processed out loud.

Mariana nodded. "That's what we've been worried about with her for a while. She's certainly got the skills, but would likely anger the other Careers so much that she could cause the pack to break down. We wanted to give her another year to mellow out before we put her into consideration, and in a year like this, being too volatile could totally screw things up. Plus, with the way she dresses…"

Thyra finished Mariana's sentence, "She could attract Garnet totally unintentionally. Which could be problematic."

"All we need her to do is not screw things up, and we might actually be able to get her into the Games. But even that might not go so well."

"Bonnie is nice and all, but I don't see her having much success in the Games either – she's a trainer, not a competitor," Thyra said. "And Nanami doesn't really have training, which will be problematic."

"So what does that mean?" Mariana led Thyra on, trying to get her to realize exactly the thing that the Victors had realized the night before.

"I'm basically the only shot Four has for a Victor this year."

* * *

 _Rain Peterson, 14, District Eleven_

* * *

Rain woke up a bit unsure of her surroundings, until she processed that she was on a tribute train, headed towards the Games. Her family in Eleven wasn't poor, per se, but they certainly weren't the wealthiest; being here was beyond her wildest dreams. The bed was so comfortable, and she felt oddly safe in it. But in the back of her mind was the very real threat of what the next week could bring.

Suddenly, Rain heard her door open. "Good morning, Rain," said Maddi, her peppy voice carrying through the living quarters. "Can you do my hair?"

"Sure," Rain mumbled, still trying to wake up a little bit. She sat up and swung her legs around to the edge of the bed, allowing her sister to sit up against them. "What do you want?"

"Can you do a French braid?" Maddi asked. "Actually, a double fishtail. Here's a hairbrush and ponytail holders."

Rain began to brush out her little sister's long brown hair, then carefully split it along the part into two equal sections. Rain began to carefully braid the left side of her sister's hair, taking little sections and carefully bringing them over the larger sections of hair. This was far from the first time that Rain and Maddi had spent time together in this way in the morning; when Rain was off from work, bonding with Maddi by braiding her hair in the morning was one of her favorite things to do.

"How are you feeling today?" asked Maddi, as she patiently endured the pulling on her scalp.

Rain answered, "A bit nervous, you know? I feel like I really need to be there for Summer, and it hurts me that I'm so far away from her. Like, what happens if things go badly with Sasha and Josh?"

"Summer will be fine," Maddi assured her big sister. "I made sure of that when I said goodbye to them."

"It still bothers me that they didn't want to see us together," lamented Rain.

"Well, I told them exactly what I thought about that."

The two fell silent again. Rain continued in her work, finishing Maddi's left braid and moving on to the right; the right half of Maddi's hair was thicker than her left, and it knotted so quickly that Rain needed to brush it out again before she could actually start braiding it.

"Rain?" Maddi said after a time, in a softer voice than usual.

"Yes?"

"I'm scared."

Rain nodded. "I am too. But we just have to be as strong as we can, and try our best to convince Garnet to pick us." She finished the second braid and wrapped it with the second elastic. "There ya go. Now let's go get breakfast! Quiinn said there's a really good drink called Hot Chocolate, and I really want to try it." Rain helped Maddi up from the floor; she quickly put on a pink shirt and leggings before following her sister out to the dining area.

"Good morning, girls," said Quiinn. "Have some hot chocolate. Narcissa's already had six mugs of this stuff." He held out two steaming mugs towards the little girls. Rain took a little sip of the light brown liquid and immediately spit it back out. "What," Quiinn teased, "you don't like it?"

"I do. It's just really hot," Rain panted, waving her hand above her tongue to try to cool it down.

"Well, that's why it's called hot chocolate."

* * *

 _Silver Flower, 17, District Eight_

* * *

The girls from Eight were sitting around, trying to soak up any last little bits of information from their mentors that they could. They hadn't gotten any advice from their mentors yet in the crucial area of how to form alliances, and Weave wanted to have a sense of what to do before she got into training.

"OK, ladies," said Cecelia, the oldest of Eight's three, "Neelee, Rose, and I have an idea. It's probably different from what every other mentor is suggesting to their tributes, because it's never been attempted before, but it might work.

"We're suggesting that you guys form something we're going to call an acquaintanceship."

"A what?" they all exclaimed.

"We're calling it an acquaintanceship. Here's how it would work. You four look at each other and make a pact right now not to kill each other should you end up in the Games. Then, you go and make four separate alliances in training."

"But how would that work?" asked Singer. "Wouldn't that be worse for us, because we wouldn't have each other as a support system?"

"There are a few advantages," Rose stepped in. "First of all, it means that, if you end up in the Games, it will probably be more likely that someone you have some form of alliance with will end up in there with you. Secondly, you'll be able to get a lot of intel on lots of people that way. Each of you will be able to connect with so many more people in some way or another."

Silver thought for a moment. "You know, that's not a bad idea." _It might be less awkward for me to ally with the younger kids that way,_ she thought. _That's where I'd rather be, anyway._ The other three nodded in agreement.

"OK. So let's try to see where you'll want to end up. Did anybody have any strong feelings towards anyone?" Cecelia asked.

"I want to figure it out in training," Singer decided. "Get to know tributes then, you know?"

"Sounds good. Does anybody have an actual idea of who to ally with?"

Silver raised her hand. "I'd like to ally with some of the younger kids," she said. "Give them a little bit of protection, you know? And I think they'd like me because I saved that twelve-year-old in our district."

Rose, Silver's personal mentor, exchanged glances with the other two, who shrugged. "You might as well," she said. "Just make sure that you're not taking advantage of them, you know?"

"Trust me," Silver asserted, "that's not in my DNA."

* * *

 _Drenaline Fisher, 18, District Six_

* * *

"The main priority for today is making sure that we get you two off of that morphling addiction," instructed Sydnee, as she ate breakfast with Drenaline, Elysia, and Gigi; they technically needed Gigi's help to mentor, but Sydnee would really be doing most of the work. The Six group had decided to completely split up for the year; Ferrari and Danira would be mentored together by Alex and Orris, and Drenaline and Elysia would be mentored together by Gigi and Sydnee. Drenaline didn't quite understand why, but she wasn't in a mental position to care too much one way or another.

Drenaline had also hoped that she wouldn't have to hear those words come out of her mentor's mouth.. Morphling had become her escape from what was happening around her; from the loss of her mother and unborn little sibling, from the ensuing abuse that she faced from her father. She had always been quiet, but the fear she felt around other people had only developed after her mother's death, because of her dad. But on the other hand, she wasn't exactly interested in being the one to argue, and instead decided to sit back and let Elysia handle it.

"We know it's going to be hard to get you completely off of it, so we're going to be monitoring you, but giving you progressively smaller doses," Sydnee continued. "What that means is that you'll only be allowed to take morphine from us. Remember that your chances in the Games are much greater if you listen to us in that regard."

"But why? Wouldn't it be better for us to be happy on morphling than to be sad off of it?" Elysia pointed out. "Plus, I'm only on morphine, which isn't as bad."

"We might not have the sponsor money to provide you with the drugs," Sydnee replied. "And withdrawal is not a fun thing to deal with on either end. It's our district's policy that no tribute who enters the Games be on morphling or morphine."

"Fine," groaned Elysia. While Drenaline wasn't exactly interested in going off of morphling, she knew that it could be even worse for her if she disobeyed Sydnee's orders. And she certainly wasn't interested in those consequences.

"Good. Now, let's talk about the plan for when we get there. We're not going to get there first, but we also probably won't be last. At that point, you're all going to be put in the hands of your stylists. Remember, they are here to make you look good. The more you disagree with them, the less likely they are to actually help you. And that's how you're gonna get sponsors. We don't know if and/or how the sponsors will play into the Selection, but it's better to have them and not need them than to not have them and need them. And it mostly falls on the mentors to find those sponsors, so help me out by being good, OK?" The girls nodded. Gigi was still completely out of it. "Good. Ferrari and Danira are about to come down to have breakfast, so feel free to go back to your rooms. We'll be at the Capitol soon." As soon as Sydnee said that, the car went dark. "We're almost in the Capitol, but we'll have to spend some time on the train before we go into the Remake Center. I guess we're ahead of schedule this year."

Drenaline glanced at Elysia, who seemed to have been ignoring everything Sydnee had said to her; she figured that her fellow tribute was annoyed about losing something that she really enjoyed, just like she was. She went back into her room and sat in silence, almost comforted by the solitude. Drenaline knew that it would be the last time she'd be completely alone for a long time, possibly for the rest of her life.

* * *

 _Nadina Spencer, 16, District Seven_

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Nadina asked, sitting next to Freida on the couch in the area where they'd watched the Reapings the night before.

"No, Nadina," said Freida. "Not yet. We'll be there soon.

"OK." The two fell silent. Nadina watched as she saw more and more of District One pass by. Living on the southern edge of Seven, she often saw bits and pieces of One, but she'd never seen it so clearly. She easily could have passed the time watching One pass by. However, Nadina was easily bored, and she needed somebody to entertain her; plus, she enjoyed pushing people's buttons. And Freida's buttons were ripe for the pushing. She waited exactly thirteen more seconds, and then asked again, "Are we there yet?"

"No," Freida groaned. "Not yet!"

"OK." Thirteen more seconds passed. "Are we there yet?"

"No!" exclaimed Freida. "We are not at the Capitol yet. Please stop asking me."

"OK." Nadina decided to let a little bit more time pass by before asking again. This time, she picked up another mug of hot chocolate from the breakfast station. She waited another minute or so, put down the mug on the table, and returned to sit next to Freida. "Are we there yet!"

"NO!" Freida exclaimed. "And if you ask me one more time if we're there yet I am going to punch your pretty little face in!"

 _Should I push it further?_ Nadina thought. _It would certainly be funny, but it could be bad for me in the Games if I go in with my face punched in. No way anybody would sponsor me._

 _But it would certainly be funny._

Before Nadina could open her mouth, though, Alvin and Reth, the girls' mentors, came rushing in. "What happened?" Reth asked, ready to physically separate the two.

"Nadina won't stop asking me if we're there yet. It's getting freaking annoying," Freida growled.

"But I'm bored!" Nadina whined. "I wanted to do something to occupy myself. And this was fun!"

Alvin rolled his eyes. "You are teenagers, not toddlers. I shouldn't need to guide you about things like this. Nadina, you'll know when we're there. Trust me, you'll be able to tell. And Freida, just walk away! That's something you'll need to be able to do in the Games – not everyone is going to avoid you, and some will downright annoy you."

"Fine!" both girls huffed.

Suddenly, the light in the car became much, much brighter. Nadina looked out the window and saw huge, gorgeous, glistening buildings, in a wide variety of colors unlike anything she'd ever seen before. "Are we there yet?" she said in awe.

"Yes," chorused everyone else. "Yes we are."

* * *

 _Confirmed Alliances:_

 _-District Ten: Eloise, Cheyenne, Lennox, Peach_

 _-District Twelve: Millicent, Douria, Brooklyn, Brietta_

 _Presumed Alliances (Alliances discussed or implied, but not explicitly established yet):_

 _-Careers: Arieyn, Delilah, Creddi, Ravi, Lavender, Bellona, Carissa, Janari, Vixyn, Bonnie, Nanami, Pacifica, Thyra_

 _-The Twins: Drew and Honey_

 _-The Siblings: Maddi and Rain_

 _-The Lovers: Kylis and Dania_

 _-Silver and the Littles: Silver, Erin, Maddi, Rain, Brooklyn, Brietta, Millicent, Douria_

 _People Definitely Not Allying:_

 _-Weave, Silver, Singer, Tistera_

 _-Freida and Nadina_

* * *

 **Well, there we have it! The second part of the train rides! What did you think? Did any opinions change?**

 **Next will be chariot prep and rides, and then we'll move into training. I think it's a good thing to start tracking alliances here; things are going to get pretty darn complex, and so I want to make sure we're as clear as possible. So keep referring to that chart, because it could even change next chapter.**

 **Thanks again for your continued support. I can't wait to see how things play out with these guys!**

 **-goldie031**


	23. The Chariot Rides

_Amaryllis Horne, 17, District Eleven_

* * *

"NO!" exclaimed Amaryllis, inching away from the pink-skinned woman approaching her with a strip of wax. "Don't touch me!" She was already a bit uncomfortable being practically naked in the thin robe; being touched by anyone wasn't something she was interested in.

"But Amaryllis," whined Berina, "we need to get the hair off to make you beautiful!"

Amaryllis curled up on the edge of the table. "Not by touching me, you're not!"

Berina turned to the other members of the prep team, Choca and Nilla. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Let me try," Choca declared. She took the strip of wax from Berina and went around to the back of Amaryllis's table. But the tribute was too quick for her prep team member, and she was able to quickly jump to the other side to avoid Choca's warm strip of doom.

"Don't you dare come closer!" Amaryllis yelled, moving to slap Choca's arm away.

The three women huddled together for a moment. Amaryllis eyed them carefully, not wanting them to come any closer. Finally, Nilla, the leader of the prep team, stepped forward, no wax strip in her hand. "So here's the deal, Amaryllis. We can get around not touching you for the most part now; we have a bath you can sit in to get all of the hair off except for the stuff around your eyebrows, and," Nilla muttered, "you'll probably also need a little bit of a trim on your hair. I don't think we need to wax the rest of your face, though, because your skin is so dark. The only issue could be the makeup… but let's put you in the bath and then go from there. Get your robe on."

Amaryllis nodded and followed Nilla to a giant tub full of a purple liquid that looked almost opaque. She turned around to let Amaryllis get into the tub; when she heard the splash, she turned back. "Thank you. This is better than being touched," Amaryllis admitted.

"I feel that," Nilla replied. "We'll need to figure things out later, but maybe I can teach you how to do your own makeup! That would be a really great thing if you do get Selected – it'll make all of our lives easier. Now, tell me about yourself."

* * *

 _Janari Lovarre, 16, District Two_

* * *

Janari stood in the center of the room, surrounded by her prep team members who, tweezers in hand, were carefully scanning her body for any stray hair. The remake process hadn't taken very long; not being a trainee in two gave Janari more time to focus on her appearance, and so many of the procedures that were traditional for tributes in the Remake Center weren't necessary.

"OK, Janari, we're done quite early for a District Two tribute," said Rile, the leader of her prep team, as he helped her into her robe. "Now, let's go talk to your stylist. He does some remarkable stuff, and he's been with Two for years and years. We're really excited that we get to work with him this year!" The overly gaudy Capitolites left the room, clearing the way for the brilliant Miles Charut. He was by far the most experienced stylist; he had started on a prep team for the Third Quell at the young age of fifteen and had only risen through the ranks since then, finally finding his way to District Two, where he'd been since right after the Fourth Quell. This year, he'd been picked as the head stylist for Two, meaning that it was his responsibility to make sure that their outfits all worked together and such. More importantly, he was one of the nicest stylists, and had an innate ability to see into their mind and understand what they want to do or wear without having to talk to them.

"Hello, Janari. How are you?" Miles began.

"G-g-g-good," Janari stuttered.

Her stylist smiled. "That's good. We don't need to talk much if that's not something you're super comfortable doing." Janari nodded. "Let's go have lunch, and then we'll get you ready." Miles led Janari into another room in their tiny suite, where they found lunch waiting for them. Janari took a plateful of food and sat, listening to her stylist talk as she ate.

"This year, each district has two chariots to work with; it's up to the district how the tributes are divided between them. We won't even know what the order is until we get down there later tonight. You're going to be on your chariot with Bellona. We want Carissa with Vixyn because Vixyn is so strong that it might make Carissa look stronger as well, and we know Bellona can give off that impression." Little did Miles know that this choice would be a huge mistake.

"The other major difference this year is that the order of the chariots has been randomized."

"Why?" Janari asked, still blushing from Miles's compliment.

Miles replied, "President Emerald doesn't want any district to have an advantage in getting to make an impression on Garnet because the tributes from that district are first. We don't know where in the order you'll end up at all, so we want to make sure you make a really good impression wherever you end up. I'll help you find the chariot, so don't worry about that," he added as an afterthought.

"Now, let's talk about your outfit. You have a more athletic body, but it's still absolutely gorgeous. We're going to show you off a bit in an outfit that is admittedly a bit skimpy, but we think it'll catch Garnet's attention in the right way. All right?"

Janari nodded. She wasn't sure how she felt about wearing so little clothing, but she would rather be living and naked than dressed in a burial shroud. So she would put up with it for the time being.

The two finished lunch, and then Miles led Janari back to her prep team. "She's ready to go!" he announced. "Have fun with her." Rile looked at his teammates Kyle and Lyle. Janari took off her robe, and the three immediately descended on her again.

The three men had been working together for a very long time; they each immediately started with their assigned tasks, as they had been for every prior year. Rile focused on her fingernails and toenails, polishing them to a gorgeous shine using clear nail polish. Kyle worked on her makeup, evening out her skin tone all over her body before using what must have been a brown eyeliner pencil to add back her freckles ("Because we think they're cute," he explained). She had little makeup on her face, just enough to make her green eyes really pop. And Lyle's job was working on her hair. Janari could feel the heat on the back of her neck as she straightened it before using some sort of wand to give it a uniform wave. He then pulled an equal section of hair from each side and braided it to create a crown on the back of Janari's head.

Finally, the three were done. They left again to retrieve Miles, who came back in with a thin garment bag. "Are you ready?" he asked.

Janari took a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

 _Arieyn Occisor, 18, District One_

* * *

Arieyn was a bit confused by what she saw in the mirror. She was wearing a white bodysuit that had been decorated to make her look like a gemstone; while she wasn't thrilled with the outfit choice, she had to admire the artistry involved to actually create the perspective needed for the bodysuit to really look like a gemstone. There wasn't much to do with her hair, so all that her prep team did was bring out her eyes and put a white shimmery powder on her lips. Arieyn had been assured that she wouldn't die if she ate it, but she wasn't nervous; after all, she had a pretty good poison tolerance.

Suddenly, her mother came into the room. "Ready to go down, Arieyn?"

"Yep. I'm ready to knock 'em dead!"

"Don't actually do that." Trienda Orrenn led her daughter and her stylist to the elevator, where they went down one level to get to the chariots. Some of the other tributes were already milling around near their chariots, though Arieyn was pretty sure that not everyone was down yet. Arieyn noticed one pocket of people that was definitely Careers, because Ravi, who was dressed identically to her, was standing in it. Then, she noticed a fiery redhead dressed like a female Viking, minus the horns; she certainly looked like a fierce Career, yet also surprisingly gorgeous. She was standing in front of a dark-skinned girl wearing close to nothing: fishnet stockings, a strapless brown leotard with gold cups for her breasts, gold armbands on both biceps, and knee-high brown leather boots. The fourth girl was dressed like a female pirate, complete with eyepatch, plastic sword, and tricornered hat.

Arieyn approached the pack; Ravi moved over to let her into the conversation. "Hi everybody," she said. "I'm Arieyn, One's Pack Lead." She'd been planning on keeping the poison secret to herself for the time being.

"Hi Arieyn," the redhead replied. "I'm Vixyn."

Arieyn was struck by how gorgeous Vixyn's eyes were. She felt something unusual when she looked into them; something odd, like she was experiencing an emotion she'd never felt before. And for once, she didn't feel a desire to suppress it.

* * *

 _Varinia Jonet, 18, Capitol_

* * *

The elevator doors opened, and Varinia walked out into a chaotic mess of tributes and stylists doing final preparations. Luckily, she immediately spotted the person she was looking for: another girl wearing a dress in a matching shade of red. "Lilith!" Varinia called, approaching the other girl who turned around.

"Hey!" Lilith called back. "I'm so glad you're here!" The two had spent the prior night together in a room at a hotel rather than get on a train to go back to the Capitol, and had enjoyed each other's company; the two also know each other from school, and while they weren't super close, Lilith had witnessed first-hand Varinia's transition from male to female.

Varinia stood next to Lilith, then went around to stand on Lilith's right. They were wearing matching red dresses with just their outside sleeve connected by a long strip of fabric to their dress. When they were standing right, the golden print on their fronts made the two look like an exact replica of Panem's flag. The girls' dark hair had been braided to look like crowns on their head, and they each had laurel wreaths; the red lipstick and gold eyeshadow tied the look together in a way that Varinia was thrilled with.

"How are you feeling?" asked Varinia.

Lilith squealed, "I'm so excited to be so close to the tributes! Like I've seen the Games for so many years, but I've never been so close."

"I know," Varinia observed. "Do you want to go introduce yourself to any of them?"

"To be honest," Lilith admitted, "I feel like there are other things happening. You know, like making alliances."

"That's the Career Pack forming," Varinia pointed out at the group of tributes in outfits representing One, Two and Four tributes.

"Yeah."

Varinia noticed that most of the Outer District tributes were standing close to their chariots. She liked that the chariots were random this year; it was fairer all around. Though she wasn't the biggest fan of the Games, she had grown up watching them, and so was surprisingly good at remembering all of the tributes names; pairing them with their outfits and districts certainly helped. She was especially good at judging the outfits of the tributes, as she was the daughter of a stylist.

The first chariot belonged to District Five, and contained Khara and Pandora. Varinia knew that it would have been difficult for the two other tributes to wear the outfits, as they consisted of a black corset top with a large black hoop skirt. Varinia was wowed by the realistic looking lightning bolts that danced across it. She wondered if the corset was powering the skirt in some way.

The second chariot belonged to Cayman and Kylis from Nine, who were wearing simple brown leotards and brown wrap-around dance skirts and grain crowns on their heads. Nothing remarkable, in Varinia's opinion; she was glad that hadn't ended up in the first chariot.

After a Career chariot in which Janari was awkwardly waiting came a chariot for District Eight, containing Silver and Weave. Their dresses weren't remarkable, simply patchwork dresses, with each patch a different fabric and color. They were an improvement on previous attempts at this style of outfit only in that the dresses looked like rainbows, going from red on the top to purple at the bottom.

Then was another Nine chariot, with Melvina and Dania in dresses that looked like sowed fields. "My mom told me that the dresses are going to grow wheat over the course of the parade," Varinia confided in Lilith. "She's been a stylist for Nine, but requested to style me once I got picked from the bowl, so she and the woman who was supposed to be my stylist switched. Each district kept the original chariot designs, though, because those get designed like six months before the Games."

Fittingly, the sixth chariot was for District Six; it seemed that Danira and Elysia felt uncomfortable in their outfits, as they were dressed as hovercraft pilots, only sexualized. Varinia remembered both girls being pretty thin, and so it was clear to her that the two had been fleshed out with padding to give them a bit more shape. Then came Seven's first chariot, which was refreshingly abstract for the tree lumber district. Rather than dressing Elizah and Freida up as trees, their stylists had decided to dress them in forest green dresses with a wood-grain pattern in gold, wearing crowns that looked to be made of branches. Varinia especially appreciated that their chariot looked as if it was made of the same branches.

After the next chariot, also a Career chariot, was a chariot from Three. Muire and Honey looked like what Varinia could only describe as techno pixies. They were wearing skintight black body suits designed to look like a combination of electronic panels, with fairy wings decorated to look like a motherboard.

Then came a chariot from Eleven that Varinia's mother had told her about. The stylists had taken inspiration from a recently resurfaced ancient Bible, and had dressed Rain and Maddi like ancient Israelite farmers. Each was carrying a basket with seven different plant species in it: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates. Their chariot was decorated like a field with those seven species growing out of it. Varinia didn't quite get the connection, but the girls looked cute.

The chariot immediately in front of theirs was Peach and Eloise's chariot, and they looked like cowgirls; both girls' hair was braided and they were wearing red gingham dresses and cowboy hats with brown leather boots. Varinia had just enough time to feel bad for Amaryllis and Narcissa behind them, who were dressed up as what dandelions, complete with white manes around their heads, before she heard an announcement over the loudspeaker.

" _ALL TRIBUTES, PLEASE REPORT TO YOUR CHARIOTS. THE PARADE WILL BEGIN IN FIVE MINUTES."_

Lilith asked, "Are you ready?"

Varinia looked around. She felt a bit guilty that she hadn't been interacting with the district tributes. But as she surveyed the girls nervously boarding their chariots, she realized that, no matter how much time she might spend with them, the fact that she would never have to worry about losing her life before age 18 would forever keep them separated.

So with butterflies in her stomach, she glanced back at Lilith. "As ready as I'll ever be," she replied.

* * *

 _Tistera Leone, 18, District Eight_

* * *

Tistera had never felt more humiliated in her life.

She was standing on her chariot in a leotard exactly the color of her skin, with a piece of turquoise yarn tied to the strap on her left shoulder. She wished that she was in Singer's position. The other girl was wearing a turquoise dress with navy blue buttons and a matching trim around its sleeves. Singer was sitting at a table with an old sewing machine – "A Singer sewing machine," their stylists had explained. The plan was for Singer to "sew" Tistera's dress during the chariot rides; Tistera hoped it would work, because she really didn't want to be standing outside, in front of a ton of people, in just a leotard.

At least Singer and Tistera were in the second-to-last chariot. The only one behind them had Phoebe and Erin from Five in it. The two were wearing puffy dresses of white chiffon that appeared to be glowing with a light that was fairly bright despite the fact that it seemed to be muted by the dress. Tistera knew that the chariots had been done randomly, but she still didn't think it was fair that Five got both the first chariot and the last chariot.

The farthest chariot in front of her that she could see a District Four chariot that Nanami and Bonnie were boarding, both dressed as mermaid with blue, green, and silver shimmering scales. Behind them was a chariot from Six, featuring Ferrari and Drenaline in skintight red racing outfits, complete with helmets, black leather gloves, and black leather boots. Then came a Two chariot featuring two female Vikings; the mermaids from Four didn't look intimidating at all for Careers, but the girls from Two didn't make Tistera feel very comfortable.

Then came a chariot from Twelve. Ever since Katniss won the 74th Games, Twelve had flirted with the idea of fire multiple times, but never had they gone to the extreme of Millicent and Douria's costumes, who were dressed as full-fledged fire goddesses. The two little girls were wearing gorgeous dresses that faded from orange at the top to bright red at the bottom, and their hair had been dyed to match. They were each carrying long torches that reached all the way down to the bottom of the chariots; Tistera noticed that the torch was also tied to the side of the chariots with a thin clear wire; she figured that that was to make sure that the torches didn't burn anything or anyone. After all, it would be bad if one of the precious tributes was hurt before the Games.

Then came a One chariot with Delilah and Creddi in it. The two were wearing white dresses covered in jewels of all colors, and Tistera noticed that there were matching jewels cascading down both girls' hair. Then came Pix and Drew from Three, who were wearing body suits that made it look like they were wearing fine wires made of gold, silver, and copper. After them came Cheyenne and Lennox from Ten, wearing short white dresses with black spots, ears and brown collars with cowbells. _Cows again,_ thought Tistera. _Don't Ten stylists know that there are more animals than just cows?_

The next chariot was another from Twelve. Brooklyn and Brietta were dressed in yellow feathered dresses with yellow headbands and yellow feathered wings, clearly trying to evoke the idea of a canary in a coal mine. Twelve had used this idea once before, and it had worked quite well, so it made sense that, in a year all about creating impressions, they would go with an outfit that had worked once before.

The next chariot was from Seven, and also was an interpretation of trees. Nadina and Euodia had willow branches wrapped around their bodies, as well as woven capes made of golden willow branches flowing behind them. Their hair was braided with more of the golden willow branches into gorgeous fishtail braids. Then came a Capitol chariot with Lahainah and Jemimah, who were dressed quite lavishly in Tistera's eyes, but what might have been normal fashion for Capitolites. Tistera had noticed that, while the other two Capitol girls looked quite normal, Lahainah and Jemimah had clearly had some form of altercations, and it kind of sickened Tistera. Then came the last chariot from Four, which had been decorated to look like a pirate ship, clearly to match Thyra and Pacifica, who were dressed as pirates.

" _THE PARADE WILL BEGIN IN ONE MINUTE."_

Tistera looked at Singer. "Do you know what to do?"

"Of course I do," Singer replied. "Don't you trust me?"

Tistera shrugged.

Being the second-to-last chariot, Tistera could hear the music blaring out from way ahead of her that indicated the start of the parade, but she knew that it would be a while. It was only when the Capitol chariot two in front of them began to move that Singer switched on her machine, getting ready to make Tistera's dress. To Tistera's surprise, by the time their chariot passed through the doors, the thread had already passed woven around the bottom of her chest. She wasn't exactly comfortable in front of the crowds, so while she tried to smile, she ended up standing sullen-faced. Tistera only hoped that she came across as a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

Garnet watched as the parade of chariots made its way towards the City Circle. There was something sort of exciting for Garnet about seeing the group of girls from which he would be picking a wife for the first time in person; though he had tried to keep himself open to choosing a non-female, by this time, Garnet was pretty sure that he was straight. At the same time, he couldn't shake the thought that he was sending 23 people to their deaths.

He turned his head towards his mother, who was also watching intently. "What were the Eleven stylists thinking?" Ruby muttered. "Of all the years… that is the most pathetic chariot costume I've ever seen."

"Hey Mom?" said Garnet, looking to his mother.

"Yes?" said Ruby, glancing back at him.

"What's your real opinion on the Games?"

Ruby took a deep breath. She had been asked about this before, but had never actually answered the question; Ruby figured now was as good a time as any.

"So I'm not the biggest fan of them," Ruby began, "but I also know that I can't reasonably end them."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the first reason is President Snow's no-change clause. He signed some papers when he took over as President that said that no changes could be made until after the Quell immediately after his death. So the first year that I would be able to change things would be next year. The other problem is the cultural issue. The Games are entrenched in the culture here in the Capitol, not to mention in One, Two and Four. So while getting rid of the Games would be great for nine Districts, the other three could riot, and they have by far the strongest citizens, not to mention that I could lose power in the Capitol. I don't think I'd like to see them stay around, but I don't see a way to keep the peace if I get rid of them. In my opinion, there is no way to placate everyone."

The two turned their attentions back to the parade. Garnet began to think: was his mother right? Was there really no way to keep everyone happy? Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. "What if I found a way?" he asked, turning back to his mom.

Ruby was concerned. "A way to what?"

"To revise the Games in a way to keep everyone happy."

"It's not possible."

"What if it is? Would you give me something?"

"Like what?" A smirk found its way onto Ruby's face.

"Two Victors this year. No District qualifications."

Ruby thought for a second. _There is no way that he can do it. I'll let him have his way for now before he sees how difficult it would be._

"Fine, Garnet. If you can find a reasonable way to reconfigure the Games so that all of the Districts and the Capitol are all OK, you can have two Victors."

Garnet held out his right hand. Ruby glanced at it and gave it a firm shake. He knew that he had to find a way to make this work; after all, someone's life now depended on it.

* * *

 **Wow, it took me a lot longer than I wanted to get this chapter up. The past week has been downright crazy, but I'm so glad that I was able to get it done!**

 **What do you think of the chapter? What was your favorite outfit? Do you think Garnet can get this deal done and save someone's life?**

 **Please drop a review; it really makes my day. I'll see y'all next chapter!**

 **Thank you all for your continuous support!**

 **-goldie031**


	24. Training, Day 1

**I have not received the first check-in from the following authors:**

 **Lord Zagreus  
Hungergames42  
AleSt  
Goldilocks775  
LokiThisIsMadnes  
Platrium  
Alphabetta,  
SecretsWithSouls00  
The Fangirl in Pink Jeans  
IVolunteerAsAuthor  
I believe in nargles too  
Twili Prince.**

 **Please see the Author's Note at the end of the District Five Reaping for more information about the check-in.**

* * *

 _Elizah Klepper, 16, District Seven_

* * *

"Good morning, girls!" exclaimed Polina. "It's time for your first training day!"

Elizah stretched her five foot four frame until she felt as if she could reach all the way to the top and bottom of the bed. She didn't want to leave the comfort of the gorgeous white sheets.

"Come on, ladies! We don't want to be late!" Polina yelled. "Up, up up!"

Liza groaned, then felt herself rolling out of bed. She hit the floor with a loud thump. "Ugh," she groaned, then got ready for the day. She hopped in for a quick shower, carefully reading over which button was which before pressing any of them, choosing water at the perfect temperature for her liking. Then, she stepped out and allowed her body to be blow-dried, before putting her hand on the magic box that perfectly dried, untangled, and combed out her red-orangey hair. Finally, she returned to her room, only to find an outfit laid out for her: a forest green tunic, black leggings, and black running shoes. When she stepped outside in the midst of putting her hair up in a ponytail, she noticed that all of the girls in her district were wearing the same outfit.

"Why do we all have to be dressed the same?" muttered Freida.

"District colors," replied Johanna. "It's been mandated for all of the training days and for the morning of the Launch since President Emerald took over. While we're at it, let's go over those. Can anybody remember them all?"

Euodia raised her hand. "One is white, Two is grey, Three is yellow, Four is blue, Five is lime green, Six is red, Seven is forest green, Eight is purple, Nine is beige, Ten is pink, Eleven is dark brown, and Twelve is black."

"And don't forget, in this case, that the Capitol is gold," Johanna insisted. "I don't know the degree to which you'll be around the Capitol girls, but you should know their color."

The girls passed their time on the floor until 8:30, when they boarded the elevator to head down to the Training Room. When they got there, most of the other girls had already arrived, and so they all stood around awkwardly. Well, everyone except for the Career girls, who were all standing clumped up. Elizah noticed Arieyn was standing next to Vixyn, looking oddly doe-eyed; she figured that there would be more separation between districts in the Pack, especially this early on, and she also thought that the Careers would be the least likely to fall in love with other tributes. She also saw two extra girls, one tiny blonde and one brunette with dark skin, and realized that the four Capitol girls weren't there.

"Good morning, ladies!" said a peppy voice, just as the clock struck 9. "My name is Portia, and I am the head trainer here. Before we begin, I would like to introduce to you Violet Emerald, who is the Selection Manager. She has some announcements for you as you are all in the same place now for basically the only time."

Portia stepped down from the podium and allowed Violet to step up. Violet looked a lot like that tiny extra girl; her blonde hair was dip-dyed lavender, and she had gorgeous eyes the color of bright emeralds. "Hello ladies! As Portia said, my name is Violet Emerald, and I have some announcements for you all. Please give me your full attention, and I shouldn't take very long.

"First of all, I want to introduce you to Nyx and Lavender," Violet announced, motioning to the two extra girls. "Based on the number of Capitol girls that Garnet picks, they may or may not be joining you in the Games; as such, they will be training and receiving scores from the Gamemakers, as well as having the opportunity to pretape interviews that will be shown right before the launch. Please don't worry about the logistics of whether or not they'll be going into the Games, but know that they are totally open to ally with.

"Now, on to the relevant logistics of the Selection. You will all have a set amount of time with Garnet; this time will include a five-minute one-on-one interview, as well as your televised three-minute interview. None of you may receive any more time than that, regardless of Garnet's request. These interviews will take place on the day after your private sessions, in and around the preparation with your mentors and escorts for your televised interviews. Garnet will be judging each of you individually, regardless of if you have a sibling, friend, or significant other with you. You will find out whether you're going into the Games or if you've been Selected on the day of the launch.

"As the Capitol girls do not have the risk of going into the Games, they will not be training with you all; you may see them in and around your private interviews with Garnet, and they will be present for the interviews. The four girls are staying in an area secluded from their families, and will only return if they are not Selected.

"I believe that's it for now on my end. There are a few other changes that are less relevant to the Selection that you'll learn about later on. Good luck, everybody!"

Portia nodded. "Thank you, Violet. Now, as she said, there are some other changes. Right now, the most relevant one for you is that there will not be any training on the third day this year. Because of the number of girls, we need a lot more time for your private sessions, the order of which will be randomized. So you're only going to have two days in this gym; as such, we have given you an extra hour each morning and two extra hours each night. Please bear that in mind as you're training. Do not count out the survival stations – weapons can only help you so much when you're dying of dysentery. Please also remember that there is to be no fighting between you guys; if you would like to spar with a partner, we have trainers readily available.

"If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask me. Good luck!"

Elizah found her way to a survival station first; she knew that she would eventually try out the axes, probably later that day, but she wanted to get some survival skills under her belt first. When she got to the traps station, the first station on which she decided to focus, she found another girl there, Narcissa from Eleven. "This whole process is so frustrating," the other girl lamented. "Like all I want to get out of training is an ally I can trust, you know? I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna get enough skills out of it anyway!"

Elizah's ears perked up. "That's funny. All I want is an ally I can trust as well. Do you not think it'll be useful to ally with your district?"

"I don't trust Amaryllis, and the other two girls are not going to be useful allies at all," Narcissa muttered.

Something in Elizah's gut said that it might not be a bad idea to ally with Narcissa. "Would you want to ally with me? You can trust me."

Narcissa looked at Elizah warily. "Sure."

* * *

 _Carissa Lovarre, 18, District Two_

* * *

"OK, everyone, let's focus!" Vixyn yelled. "We have a lot to do today, so we need to be able to go through this meeting quickly."

All thirteen girls from the Career districts were crowded around the station used to train with maces; Vixyn had picked the station because she figured nobody would be focusing on maces that year. The Pack Lead was standing on a stool, Arieyn to her right and Thyra to her left. While Carissa was excited by the prospects of the Pack, she was much more excited to get back into training. She needed a bit more practice, especially because they were losing the third training day.

"All right. Here's the plan. We're going to be trying to keep together as one pack for the most part, but we obviously don't know how long that's going to last. As such, we're probably going to be ranking the pack, and if we need to break up the pack, we'll break it along the skill line. The other two leads and I would like to have an idea of that today, but obviously, we also don't know who will end up in the Games and who will end up in the Selection, which complicates matters. We're going to base our rankings off of your training scores; that's the most objective way to do so.

Suddenly, Carissa felt a sense of pressure that she had never felt before. She needed to make it into the higher pack to have a solid chance of survival; to do that, she would need to make sure that she showcased her skills with swords. But when she turned around to go to the swords station, Janari was right there. "What are you doing, Jan?" Carissa asked.

"I feel lost," her sister replied. "I don't know what to do around here. And I know that I'm going to be in the lower half of the pack anyway."

Carissa signed. "I need to focus on my stuff this morning, to make sure that I make it into the higher pack, which will make both of our chances better. Why don't you try some survival stations, and maybe also knives? That's stuff you can handle. And tonight, we'll make sure to work with you so your interview with Garnet is perfect."

Janari nodded. "OK," she said, pouting a little bit, before moving away towards fire-building.

Finally, Carissa could focus on her swords. She felt Vixyn and Arieyn's watchful eyes on her as she did her best work, slashing at the dummies the best way that she could. Unfortunately, Pacifica was standing right next to her, and it was clear that the other girl was more skilled with her swords and much fiercer. _Why didn't she volunteer?_ thought Carissa. _She could do really, really well in these Games. And that's kind of scary._

While Carissa knew that she had two more days, she also wanted to spend some time with all four of her favorite weapons on both days. So, after spending an hour or so on swords, she moved over to knives. She began to work on throwing, but felt that someone was watching her. When Carissa turned around, she saw the new little girl from One, Lavender, watching her. "You've got some skills," the little one said.

"Well, I would think so," replied Carissa, turning around to face the twelve-year-old. "I've been training since I was six."

"But I'm sure you also know that many of the other girls are better than you," the little one insinuated.

"How can you tell that?"

"You and Vixyn are the same age, which means she must have beaten you out, and Pacifica was dangerous with her swords."

Carissa nodded. "I don't know how you knew it, but you're right. So where are you going with this?"

"You're probably gonna get a lower score, because of the discrepancy in skills between you and the others in your district, not just from this year but also other Careers in the past. I'm also probably going to get a lower score, because I'm younger and much more inexperienced with much less training. That'll put us both in the lower pack. But you and I are both better than Janari and Creddi, and also probably better than Nanami."

Carissa's eyes narrowed. "What do you suggest?" she asked.

Lavender replied, "An alliance and Final Two deal. We won't have to worry about killing people from our own Districts because one of us is from One and one of us is from Two. And we can definitely do better than the outer district kids, as well as the other girls in the lower pack. Even if we're both in the higher pack, or if we get split up, the deal will hold."

"And if we get to the Final Two?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." She held out her hand. "What do you say?"

Carissa knew that being shafted to the lower pack could be disastrous for her chances in the Games. While she wasn't super comfortable in the hands of a twelve-year-old, it was certainly better than nothing. "I'll do it, but only if you allow Janari to come into the alliance if she ends up in the Games."

"You have a deal, Carissa. You have a deal."

And the two shook on it.

* * *

 _Cayman Rye, 16, District Nine_

* * *

The bell rang for lunch. Cayman put down the dagger she was working with and headed out through the big doors that made way to the lunch room. After getting some food, she noticed a tiny brunette sitting alone at a table. Cayman had a sudden hunch that, if she sat with her, something very good would come out of it, so she decided to take a seat with her. "Hi there," Cayman said. "Can I sit with you?"

The girl smiled gratefully. "Of course!" She slid over, making some room for Cayman to sit next to her. "I'm Phoebe from Five."

"Cayman, from Nine. Nice to meet you." She took a roll of plain white bread from the bread basket in the center of the table, one that she recognized fondly from the rolls of bread she had at home. "What did you do during training today?"

"Focused on survival," Phoebe replied, buttering a dark brown loaf of bread. "I am making sure to avoid the weapons stations, though, so I know I have another day and a half to really master traps and some other things."

Cayman was a bit shocked. "You've got so much training time, but you're avoiding weapons? You know that's how you're going to have to win the Games, right?" She took a bite out of the bread.

"My dad had me promise never to kill when I was younger," Phoebe admitted coldly. "And I promised him that, whatever happened in these Games, I'd live up to that moral."

"That's so admirable," marveled Cayman, "that you're so firm in your morals even in this situation. I can totally understand that; I'm the same way, but that's not a value I was raised with in the same way."

"Not killing?!" Phoebe was shocked.

"That's not quite what I mean. Like, the morals that I had growing up weren't explicitly not to kill, but the ones I had, like being a good big sister, are strong. But I really don't want to kill either, to be honest."

Phoebe smiled. "That's nice." She fell silent for a moment.

"Would you be interested in allying?" Cayman asked.

Phoebe thought for a moment. "Sure. That would be nice."

* * *

 _Singer Brocade, 17, District Eight_

* * *

After lunch, Singer wanted to do something low-energy, and so she decided to work on climbing trees. That was a good, mostly fool-proof way to avoid other tributes. _And it can't be too hard, right?_ she thought, as she approached the trainer.

"Would you like some help?" asked one of the trainers.

"Nope," Singer exclaimed. "I can do it." She stepped up towards one of the trees, a large oak tree, and took a deep breath. She put her feet on two little notches at the trunk of the tree and attempted to pull herself up onto one of the lower branches, but her five foot six frame was too small and she fell flat on her back.

"Are you OK?" asked another girl. Singer recognized the brunette who came into her field of vision as Euodia from Seven, memorable mostly because of her freak-out after being Reaped.

Singer grunted, "I'm fine," got up, and tried to climb the tree again. To her chagrin, she made the same mistake multiple times: rather than climbing up the notches one by one, she wanted to jump from the lower notches to the lower branches, making it almost impossible to succeed in climbing the trees.

After three more tries, Euodia said, "Let me show you." She nimbly bolted up the tree, easily getting to the highest branch.

"How did you do that?" Singer exclaimed. "Can you teach me?"

"Oh, now you want help," smirked Euodia. "Let me show you."

The two girls spent about an hour working together climbing trees; being from Seven, Euodia naturally had a vast knowledge of trees. By the end of the hour, Singer realized that maybe she didn't know as much as she thought. "Thank you for your help, Euodia," she gushed, sitting next to the other girl at the top of the oak tree. "Would you be interested in being allies?"

"Sure!" Euodia exclaimed. "But I'd be more comfortable in a bigger alliance. It's more likely that more of them would end up in the Games that way, if I end up there too."

"That's fine. Who do you have in mind?"

The two girls skimmed the other tributes training. They weren't necessarily interested in the strongest girls, but girls who would be nice and fun to work with. Eventually, they settled on Khara and Pandora from Five, Danira from Six, and Lennox from Ten. "Now, all we have to do is convince them to join us," smirked Euodia.

"I know we can get it done. Alliances are crucial this year, after all; the other tributes would be foolish not to realize that."

* * *

 _Muire Spencer, 17, District Three_

* * *

Muire had spent most of the day focused on the survival stations. They'd wanted to find an ally, but had been too shy and scared to do so. But they knew exactly who they wanted to ally with: Amaryllis from Eleven. For Mu, it made them feel so much more comfortable that there was another tribute who wasn't male or female. It was almost a validating feeling, that they weren't alone, even though their gender identities were different; Amaryllis as a non-binary person identified outside of being male or female, while Mu fluctuated between feeling like a boy, like a girl, or, on tougher days, like somewhere in between.

Mu was a little bit worn out from all of the day's activities, and so they took a seat on a bench to breathe a little bit. They were definitely excited for training to be over; being in such an intense social situation was a bit overwhelming for them.

Suddenly, they saw a familiar figure come over to ware they were sitting. Mu realized that Drew was checking up on them, and they felt happy; though they weren't as close as he was with Honey, Mu still felt comfortable around him.

"How is your day going?" Drew asked, sitting next to them on the bench that they were resting on.

Mu nodded with a sad little smile. "It's OK. I wanted to find an ally today, but I wasn't super comfortable doing so."

"But you already have allies, remember? We allied as a district, especially because so many of us aren't exactly in the gender binary, so we feel like we won't get picked by Garnet."

"But what if everyone gets picked other than me? I want another option."

Drew contemplated for a moment. "Did you have someone in mind?"

"Amaryllis. She's non-binary, and I'm gender-fluid. It's a perfect pairing, in my opinion." Mu sunk back into themself suddenly. "I hope so, at least."

"Funny, I was also thinking of including her in our alliance. Do you want to come with me, and we can ask her together?"

Mu nodded enthusiastically. They followed Drew over to the ropes station, where Amaryllis was working on learning how to make ropes. "Amaryllis?" asked Drew.

"Yes?" she said, a little shyly.

Drew gave a little wave. "I'm Drew, and this is Muire. We're from Three. The two of us were wondering if you'd like to join District Three's alliance."

Amaryllis was shocked. "You want me in your alliance?"

Drew nodded. "All of us are outside of the gender binary in some way. You are, too."

"I'll gladly ally with the two of you. It makes me feel happy that you see me as someone out of the gender binary; it validates me," she admitted, before smiling shyly and turning back to the ropes.

"Do you want to come with us to talk to the other kids in our district?" Drew offered out his hand, but Amaryllis recoiled away from it.

"I'm OK. But thank you for asking me!"

Suddenly, a bell rang, signaling the end of that day's training. Mu and Drew went to the elevators and pressed the black button labeled with a yellow 3, letting it take them up to their floor.

"How did training go?" Jones asked the pair. "And where are the other two?" Mu shrugged and gave a weak thumb up.

"I got decent with archery and a trident. I'll do more tomorrow. And we got another person in our alliance. Hopefully, Pix and Honey will be up soon."

"Good," Jones said. "I'm glad to hear about the other person. Now, go and take some time to rest; we'll be eating soon."

Mu returned to theirvquarters and took off the leggings and yellow tunic they'd been asked to wear. They put on a pair of shorts and a black t-shirt, and sat down on their bed; before they knew it, they were asleep.

* * *

Confirmed Alliances:

 _-District Ten: Eloise, Cheyenne, Lennox, Peach_

 _-District Twelve: Millicent, Douria, Brooklyn, Brietta_

 _-Careers: Arieyn, Delilah, Creddi, Ravi, Lavender (D1); Bellona, Carissa, Janari, Vixyn (D2); Bonnie, Nanami, Pacifica, Thyra (D4)_

 _-The Final Two Deal: Lavender (D1) and Carissa (D2)_

 _-Longing for Trust: Elizah (D7) and Narcissa (D11)_

 _-Morally Conscious: Phoebe (D5) and Cayman (D9)_

 _-Tree-Climbers: Euodia (D7) and Singer (D8)_

 _-Gender-Benders: Drew, Honey, Muire, Pix (D3); Amaryllis (D11)_

 _Presumed Alliances (Alliances discussed or implied, but not explicitly established yet):_

 _-The Siblings: Maddi and Rain (D11)_

 _-The Lovers: Kylis and Dania (D9)_

 _-Silver and the Littles: Erin (D5); Silver (D8); Maddi, Rain (D11); Brooklyn, Brietta, Millicent, Douria (D12)_

 _-The Big One: Khara, Pandora (D5); Danira (D6); Euodia (D7); Singer (D8); Lennox (D10)_

 _People Definitely Not Allying:_

 _-Weave, Silver, Singer, Tistera (D8)_

 _-Freida and Nadina (D7)_

* * *

 **Hey friends!**

 **We're starting to see more alliances taking shape now, which is exciting! We're not going to see every single alliance completely form, partly because of the number of people in the different people in alliances and partly because the training days got cut down from three to two. So some things will happen more behind the scenes, but I'll try to showcase as much as possible.**

 **What did you all think of the chapter? Do you think that these alliances will or won't work? How will the Career pack break down?**

 **By the way, thank you all so much for the 250 reviews! I'm on track to blow one of my other stories, Only Time Will Tell, which has the most reviews currently, out of the water; I don't know how many chapters this one will have, but I think the review count will definitely beat OTWT's.**

 **Thank you so much for your support through this process. I'm so excited to showcase more in the next few chapters – it's only a matter of time before we learn who will be placed where! By the way, if anyone would be interested in designing a cover for this story, hit me up.**

 **Thanks again!**

 **-goldie031**


	25. Training, Day 2

**I have not received the first check-in from the following authors:**

 **Hungergames42  
AleSt  
Goldilocks775  
LokiThisIsMadness  
Platrium  
SecretsWithSouls00  
The Fangirl in Pink Jeans  
IVolunteerAsAuthor  
Twili Prince**

 **Please see the Author's Note at the end of the District Five Reaping for more information about the check-in.**

* * *

 _Ferrari Benz, 15, District Six_

* * *

Ferarri had chosen to play it safe on the first day of training, to try to avoid getting hurt. For Ferrari, playing it safe meant training with a new weapon: an Urumi, a flexible sword with a blade like a whip. But today, she was feeling much less interested in safety, and so decided to practice something that she knew would give her a thrill: the giant rock wall.

She figured that she would be the only person scaling the wall; after all, it spanned the entire height of the gym, a height of at least 25 feet, from what Ferrari could tell. But Ferrari was surprised to see another girl already on her way down form the top. "Hey!" called Ferrari to the tallish girl with the light brown skin.

The other girl looked down. "Hi!"

"Do you want to race?"

The other girl thought for a second as she rappelled down the wall. She landed on the floor, looked Ferrari in the eyes, and grinned. "I'm always up for a challenge."

The trainer smiled as well, and began to help Ferrari into a harness. At the same time, another trainer pressed a button, causing the rocks on the wall to shift position. After a mandated safety check, which made Ferrari roll her eyes, the two girls got into position. "Ready?" the trainer asked. Both girls nodded.

"Go!"

Ferrari immediately realized that climbing the wall would be harder than she had originally thought, but that absolutely did not stop her from going as quickly as she could. Climbing was less of a thinking thing for her and more of a reflex thing; it was as if she knew somehow which rock to move to and when. But her opponent was fast as well. While Nadina moved slightly slower, her steps were more accurate, and so the two girls ended up reaching the top at exactly the same time.

"Nicely done, my friend," said the other girl. "I'm Nadina."

"Ferrari," she replied, as she extended her hand. The two girls began to rappel down. "How did you move slower than me, but tie me?"

"I took a half-a-second extra to make sure that going up to that rock would actually work. But, I also had a bit more practice. Wanna go again?"

The girls spent a good amount of time that morning climbing up the rock wall. It was fun for Ferrari to compete against someone else, but more fun to be up at the top of the wall. She could have sworn that, each new time they tried, the wall grew another foot, and she enjoyed every minute of it.

"I think we should move on to another station," suggested Nadina, after the sixth go at the wall. "Do you want to stick together?"

"Sure," Ferrari replied. "And if you want, I'm in need of an ally."

"I'd be happy to ally with you. There's nothing that two brave girls can't do."

* * *

 _Brietta Westwood, 14, District Twelve_

* * *

Brietta wasn't entirely sure how she felt about her alliance. On the one hand, she knew that a large alliance was good to have, especially in these Games. And she hadn't exactly been opposed it it the day before, as it was forming.

After lunch on the first training day, Rain Peterson from Eleven had approached the Twelve alliance and asked if she and her sister, Maddi, could ally with them; they'd wanted to ally with other younger girls as well. So the alliance switched from a four-person alliance to a six-person alliance. Then, it had been Rain's idea to add Erin from Five to it, as the only other tribute under fifteen. But during lunch, while the younger five members of the alliance ate on one end of the table, Brietta and Douria sat next to each other on the other end; Brietta less than two weeks away from turning fifteen, and Douria was just a bit younger than her.

"I'm not sure how I feel about being in such a weak alliance," Douria said, taking a bite out of a piece of what Rain insisted was Eleven's bread.

Brietta replied, "You know we would have had trouble allying with anybody else."

"Why do you say that?"

"We're little, you know? I hate to say it, but I feel like other people don't want to work with kids under fifteen in a year where there are so many kids over fifteen. We're going to be easy targets."

"But we could at least try to get some form of older ally, you know? I don't want to totally write myself off because I'm only fourteen," insisted Douria. "I'm not sure if I want to stay in this alliance, but if I do, we need to find an older girl to join in with us."

Almost as soon as Douria finished speaking, the girls noticed a tallish brunette approach their table. "Can I sit with you?" she asked.

"Sure," said Brietta, scooching over to allow the older girl to sit down. "What's your name?"

"I'm Silver," she said. "I'm from District Eight. I was really interested in allying with all of you guys," Silver added, motioning to the other girls at the table.

 _Silver is a weird name for someone from Eight. That's like a super typical One name,_ thought Brietta. "Why us?" she asked the older girl.

"I've always liked little kids," Silver explained. "I think they're so cute, and I like the idea of protecting them from danger."

"Really?" exclaimed Douria.

"Yeah. It would make me feel good to save someone else's life when I die. So what do you think? Please?"

Brietta and Douria looked at each other. "Can we have a second to talk it over?" Brietta asked.

"Sure." Silver got up and moved over to another table.

"Well, there's your older girl," Brietta scoffed. "I hope you're happy with her."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you trust her to actually be a sound ally? Silver is a very One name. She could easily be playing us; maybe she moved from One to Eight, but she won't make it into the pack because of her district, and so she's using us to easily kill us!"

"Whoa, Brietta, calm down!" exclaimed Douria. "Why do you think she would do that? Careers don't generally interact at all with outer district tributes. Plus, we don't know how skilled she actually is. For all we know, she'll get a pretty low training score. Let's accept her into the fold for now, and then after training scores come out, we can see how we want to proceed."

Brietta suggested, "Should we ask Rain first? She's kind of taken the lead on the alliance"

"Not a bad idea." Douria reached around Erin and tapped Rain on the shoulder. "Can we ask you a question?"

"Sure." Rain got up and came to talk to the other, older girls in the alliance. "What's up?"

"How do you feel about adding an older girl to the alliance?" asked Douria. Rain cocked her head to the side and looked a bit confused. "Silver from Eight came over and asked if she could join, because she likes working with younger kids and wants to protect them."

Rain thought for a sec. "I mean, it is a bit suspicious. But I feel like, at the same time, it's not a bad idea for us to have one person with more life experience in our group. And we also don't exactly know how things will go with different people going into the Games or the Selection. I'm not thrilled that it's Silver of all people, but it's not necessarily a bad idea to have her in our group for now. But let's see what happens with her later on, like with her interview and her training score and stuff."

"OK," Brietta said. "I guess majority rules." But she still was a bit wary of the girl who, for some reason, wanted to ally with the least likely girls to win.

* * *

 _Danira Muntaner, 16, District Six_

* * *

Danira was glad that she'd decided to work at the edible bugs station before lunch; now, it was time to move to edible plants. For the most part, she wasn't so concerned about knowing whether or not every plant was poisonous; she was much more interested in warning signs, so she could look at any plant and identify it. She also knew that she absolutely would not have the ability to focus on learning about every single plant.

"We don't know what plants will exactly be in the arena," the trainer said, "but there are some that are in there every year. The most important berry to avoid is the nightlock berry. It looks a bit like a blueberry, but they will kill you instantly; unless you want to die, don't eat them."

Danira tried to keep paying attention to the instructor, but she was really struggling. Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder; when she turned around, she saw Euodia standing there. If there was one non-Career tribute that everyone recognized, it was Euodia, thanks to her freak-out during the Reapings. She wasn't entirely sure what she thought of Euodia, but she was willing to listen to what she had to say.

"Hey, Danira. How are you?"

"I'm OK. But I do think it's a bit weird that you know my name."

"Don't worry about it. I was wondering if you would be interested in joining an alliance."

Danira's eyes narrowed. "Which alliance?"

Euodia explained, "Singer from Eight and I have been working on forming one of the larger alliances in the Games. We've already gotten confirmation from Khara and Pandora from Five, and from Lennox from Ten, that they will join. We think that you would be the perfect person to close out the alliance."

Danira looked Euodia right in the eye. "Do you really want me? From what I'm hearing, you already have enough people to work with."

The girl from Six could see her counterpart from Seven working really hard not to argue. "You know that it's much better to have more people this year, because we don't know how many of us are going into the Games and who's going into the Selection."

"And honestly, how do I know that you're going to be helpful to me?"

Euodia looked at the station Danira was standing in front of. "Edible plants?"

"Yep." Danira watched as Euodia whipped through one of the edible plant kiosks, getting every one right. "How'd you do that?" Danira amazed.

"I'm from Seven," explained Euodia. "We have a lot of plants. Now, this way, you can see what I have to offer you!"

"I could have memorized them eventually," muttered Danira, "except that it would have taken me forever because I am bad at focusing. But yeah, I do see. And I'll accept your offer to join your alliance."

* * *

 _Weave Flasherett, 17, District Eight_

* * *

Weave got up from lunch and put her tray away. She'd spent the day trying to pick out allies; the first day was spent focusing on training, and while she was a bit wary about forming alliances with people she didn't really know, she also felt that it would be safer to have someone to work with. So she'd been watching, and had decided on two people that seemed trustworthy, because they were like her.

Earlier that day, she'd talked to Elysia Hall from Six about being in the alliance. Elysia had been pretty dazed, for reasons that Weave couldn't understand, but she'd made some form of noise that Weave took to be affirmative, so Weave took it as a good sign. But now was the time for the harder part: offering a spot in the alliance to Dania. Weave and Dania had worked together on camouflage the day before, and Weave had definitely identified the other girl as someone like her, and therefore a potential ally.

Weave knew that Dania was dating Kylis. So did every other tribute. The two of them had been training together for the whole second morning, focusing on a few survival stations; after lunch, they split off again, Kylis going to work on other survival skills, because she had focused on weapons the day before, and Dania moving towards the knives. While Weave wasn't super interested in working with knives, she knew that getting the alliance set up was much more important.

"Hi," Weave said shyly, as she took her place next to Dania, who was practicing throwing knives.

"Hello."

"I'm Weave, from District Eight."

"I'm Dania, from Nine."

The two fell silent for a moment, focusing on their knives. After a few more throws, Weave turned to Dania again. She recognized the social fear that crept up in her, but knew that she knew that this was possibly the best possible ally for her of the whole bunch.

"I have a question for you, Dania."

Dania looked up. "Yes?"

"How would you feel about being in an alliance with me? I was looking for someone similar to me to ally with, and I think you'd be really good."

"Really?" Dania smiled shyly. "You want me to ally with you?"

"Yeah," Weave replied quietly.

"Tributes!" announced Portia. "That concludes your second and final day of training. Tonight, your escorts will give you a number one through ten, which indicates your group for tomorrow; you have been randomly put into groups, and your order will be randomized from there. The first group will come down at Nine AM, and each subsequent group will be called from there. You all will have ten minutes for your private sessions; if you feel like you don't need that much time, don't be afraid to inform the Gamemakers of that. There will be five-to-ten minute breaks between each group, during which the next group will be called down, so please listen for your group number. If you would like to do social things tomorrow, feel free to go to the roof; we have designated tomorrow for interview preparations with your mentors and escorts.

"Have a good night, everyone!"

Weave turned to Dania. "So?"

"I don't want to ally without Kylis," admitted Dania, "but I'll definitely consider it."

* * *

 _Dania Kesten, 16, District Nine_

* * *

Dania made her way up to the ninth floor, Weave's offer still fresh in her mind. But when she made it to her floor, she suddenly got a feeling that something bad was about to happen.

The girls from Nine gathered to have dinner together on their floor; they talked about the day and each girl's success in training. Before they could disperse, Kronos, their primary escort, said, "OK, girls. I have your groups for tomorrow. Kylis, you're in group 2, which should be starting around 9:45 or 9:50. Dania is in group 6, which starts around 2:15. Melvina is in group 7, which is around 3:15, and Cayman is in group 9, which is around 5:15. Good?" Everyone put their thumbs up. "Great. You're dismissed for the night."

"Dania?" said Kylis quietly. "Can we talk for a second?"

Dania nodded. She followed her girlfriend into her room, not noticing that the Sheaf twins, their mentors, were following behind. The dread intensified when Kylis closed the door.

"What's wrong, Kylis?" Dania murmured.

Kylis sighed. "Look. My biggest concern is making sure that you're as safe as possible in the Games. I never wanted you to volunteer, and I'm worried that if Garnet finds out that you're dating someone, I won't be able to save you. And with all the Careers…"

"So?" Dania said. "I'd rather be dead with you than alive without you."

"But you and I both know that I have so much of a better chance than you do at winning."

"What are you trying to say?"

Kylis took a deep breath. "I'm trying to say that I think we would both be more successful if we weren't together."

"WHAT?!" yelled Dania.

"I'm saying that I think it would be better for both of us if we weren't dating. We can get back together if we both end up in the Games…"

But it was too late. Dania burst into tears. "So now my love is conditional? Like we can only be together if we're in a life-or-death situation?"

"That's not what I mean… I…"

"Get out," Dania said coldly.

"I..."

"GET OUT!" she screamed. "I don't want to be with someone who only cares about me in certain situations. And I cared for you. I gave you my everything. I held on, and waited until you said I love you! And now you're just getting rid of me? Shoving me off like a little fly? No. I deserve better."

"Dania, I don't mean it like that," Kylis pleaded. "It would only be temporary! I'm just looking out for you!"

But the damage was done. "Go away. Now." Kylis left and quietly closed the door; Dania heard her outside of the door say to the mentors, "That didn't go well. Now what?"

Dania flopped on her bed as the tears began to flow. She couldn't quite process what had happened; while part of her did want to go back to Kylis, the hurt that she felt that she cared more about living than about her pained Dania more than she could ever understand.

 _At least I can accept Weave's offer now,_ she thought, before she fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 ** _Finalized Alliances:_**

 _Careers : Arieyn, Delilah, Creddi, Ravi, Lavender (D1); Bellona, Carissa, Janari, Vixyn (D2); Bonnie, Nanami, Pacifica, Thyra (D4)_

 _- The Final Two Deal: Lavender (D1) and Carissa (D2)_

 _Gender-Benders: Drew, Honey, Muire, Pix (D3); Amaryllis (D11)_

 _Morally Conscious: Phoebe (D5) and Cayman (D9)_

 _The Big One: Khara, Pandora (D5); Danira (D6); Euodia (D7); Singer (D8); Lennox (D10)_

 _Silver and the Littles: Erin (D5); Silver (D8); Maddi, Rain (D11); Brooklyn, Brietta, Millicent, Douria (D12)_

 _The Brave Ones: Ferrari (D6) and Nadina (D7)_

 _The Quiet Ones: Elysia (D6); Weave (D8); Dania (D9)_

 _Longing for Trust: Elizah (D7) and Narcissa (D11)_

 _District Ten: Eloise, Cheyenne, Lennox, Peach_

* * *

 **Well, that was sad at the end. It definitely hurt to write that section, but I think it'll help things progress later on.**

 **Now we have our alliances set up! Not every tribute is in an alliance because many of them said on their forms that they wouldn't be in an alliance, so there's that. We also will still be finding out how the Career alliance breaks down, so there's that. I will be putting on my profile on the tribute list who is in which alliance, and I will add the training scores there later.**

 **Which alliances will be successful? Which ones won't? Which tributes who aren't in an alliance will succeed?**

 **Also, it is now time for our second check-in! With the exception of Brietta and Delilah, I need people to send me your tributes' birthdays; if you submitted those two tributes, please still check in with me, but I only need the birthdays of your other tributes. I generally don't go by dates so much in my universes, but if you want context, Reaping Day is on July 25 in this verse's headcanon.**

 **I'm hoping to get another chapter up tomorrow or Saturday; the quicker I go now, the sooner we get to the Games. I hope you enjoyed this one as much as possible; thanks again for all of your support!**

 **-goldie031**


	26. Private Sessions

**I have not received the first from the following authors:**

 **Hungergames42  
AleSt  
Goldilocks775  
SecretsWithSouls00  
The Fangirl in Pink Jeans  
Twili Prince**

 **Please see the Author's Note at the end of the District Five Reaping for more information about the check-in.**

 **I'm also missing a bunch of second check-ins, but it hasn't been that long since I posted, so don't worry about that too much :).**

* * *

 _Nyx Mynier, 16, District Twelve (Backup Tribute)_

* * *

Nyx was not thrilled that she was in the first training group. It wasn't that she was upset about having to show her skills; that, she was excited for. The problem was having to wake up significantly earlier than the rest of her district. The person in the closest group to hers was Brooklyn, and she was in the sixth group, which wasn't going until the afternoon!

"You ready to go, Nyx?" asked Ellessa. "You need to be down at 9 AM sharp!"

"Almost," Nyx replied. She put on the mandated black tunic, along with black leggings and a pair of combat boots, and headed out into the common area of the floor to eat a quick breakfast. She had a biscuit and some eggs, and then made her way down to the training floor. When she got down, she saw four other girls already in the waiting area; two wearing forest green, one in red, and one in purple. _Two Sevens, an Eight, and a Six,_ she thought, before taking the last seat on the bench.

At 8:55 exactly, Portia came out into the waiting area. "I'm going to start with a quick check-in. Tistera? Nyx?" Nyx raised her hand. "Elizah? Ferrari? Nadina? Excellent. A few instructions before you go in. Because we're not going in order, the Gamemakers will need to know your name and district, so please state that when you walk in. The Gamemakers will tell you when you may begin. Each of you has up to ten minutes where you can do whatever you would like in there; if you would like to leave early, please inform the Gamemakers, and they will dismiss you.

"After the first person in this group goes in, please watch that screen for your name, so you know when it's your turn. Also, if any of you have any unusual requests for your private sessions, please let me know now, so that if there are any potential issues, I can fix them before you come in. This does not include needing a trainer; those will be readily available."

Nyx raised her hand. "I would like to show my prowess with explosives, but it would be bad for me to blow up the training center."

"Hmm," Portia replied. "Let me think about that. I'll ask the Gamemakers before you go in." The clock struck nine. "Tistera, you're up!"

The girl in the purple shirt stood in front of the large double doors; as soon as they opened, she walked in, and they closed behind her. After about six minutes, Nyx saw her name flash on the screen. She got up and stood in front of the double doors, and entered as they opened.

"Nyx Heyton, District Twelve," she announced, as she stood in the middle of the room. She watched as the Gamemakers flipped through their papers.

"Are you a backup tribute?" Amethyst asked.

"Yes," Nyx replied.

"And we heard that you would like to work with explosives?" Nyx nodded. A few more moments passed. "OK. When you would like to work with those, you may construct a fake bomb, and then enter the simulator to your left to demonstrate how you would utilize the explosives to take down a building. You may begin."

Nyx decided to leave the explosives for later, so she started by going to the pickaxes. She took one in her hand, and motioned for a trainer. Nyx set herself up in a battle stance, and used the pickaxe to defeat the trainer quickly. Then, she spent a quick minute demonstrating her prowess with a rapier, handling it similarly to the pickaxe.

Finally, it was time for her to show off her skills with explosives from working in the mines. Nyx knew that it wouldn't take her too long to prepare a bomb; using dynamite and other explosive powders, she knew exactly the combination of sticks and wires to create something deadly. Then, she entered into the simulator and scoped out the building she found. She identified seven "pressure points," and placed bombs there, knowing that when she detonated them, the bombs would bring the building down. Once Nyx was satisfied with her work, she pressed the green button; the computer bombs went off, and the building came down perfectly.

Nyx stepped out of the simulator. She saw the Gamemakers nodding their heads in approval. "Perfect timing, Nyx," remarked Amethyst. "That is exactly ten minutes. You may go." Another set of doors opened, and Nyx walked out, going immediately to the elevators and taking it up to the top floor. When she got there, she found that Ellessa was waiting for her.

"How did it go?" Ellessa asked.

"Pretty good," Nyx replied. "Now what do I do for the rest of the day?

* * *

 _Eloise LaBelle, 16, District Ten_

* * *

Eloise woke up at 9 AM, because an automated voice blared through the raining center, saying, "The Private Sessions are now beginning." She groaned, but figured that it was a sign that it was time to wake up.

Eloise got out of bed and put on another training uniform; she was admittedly getting quite bored of wearing pink every day. She quickly pulled her hair up in a ponytail before brushing her teeth. Then she came out into the common area to have breakfast. Back home in District Ten, she enjoyed a pretty hearty breakfast, and so went for the same thing: three flapjacks, four strips of bacon, scrambled eggs, and some potatoes. At 9:35, the automated voice blared again: "Will the second group please make their way to the training floor." Eloise had the last bite of pancake and then went to the elevators, pressing the button that took her right down to the bottom floor.

When she got there, she noticed that there was only one other girl in the waiting area, wearing a green shirt. As she waited, four other girls joined her, two in white, one in blue, and one in beige. The screen in the room suddenly displayed the words Nadina Spencer, and the girl in the green shirt got up and entered the training room. After another few minutes of waiting, the head trainer came out to greet the next group of girls. "I'm going to start with a quick check-in," she began. "Eloise?" Eloise raised her hand. "Incredible? Lavender? Kylis? Nanami? Excellent. A few instructions before you go in. Because we're not going in order, the Gamemakers will need to know your name and district, so please state that when you walk in. The Gamemakers will tell you when you may begin. Each of you has up to ten minutes where you can do whatever you would like in there; if you would like to leave early, please inform the Gamemakers, and they will dismiss you.

"The Gamemakers are currently on a break; please watch the screen for your name so that you know when to go in to the training room. Also, if any of you have any unusual requests for your private sessions, please let me know now, so that if there are any potential issues, I can fix them before you come in. This does not include needing a trainer; those will be readily available." Nobody answered. "All right, ladies. Good luck!" Portia went through the doors back into the training room, leaving the girls alone to wait.

Eloise waited impatiently until she saw a name flash onto the screen; she was delighted to see that it was her name! She got up and entered the room.

"Eloise LaBelle, District Ten," she announced. She watched as the Gamemakers flipped through large stacks of papers. After a moment, when the flipping had stopped, she received approval to begin.

Eloise had one particular strength when it came to weapons, and that was a lasso. Though she'd tried in training to master other things, she'd failed completely, and so she knew that it was her best shot at getting a good score. First, she went to a weaving station, and wove her own rope out of hemp. Then, she carefully tied a knot in the rope, forming a loop that could widen and shrink as she chose.

Finally, it was time to get roping! Eloise went to a station with a large array of dummies that could pop up and down automatically, as well as move side-to-side. She skillfully controlled the rope in her hand, moving it forward and back to perfectly rope every dummy; in Eloise's mind, it was just like lassoing the cows that her family worked with in Ten. When she got the lasso around the neck of the last dummy, she pulled the rope tightly enough to take off its head.

 _Hmm. What else can I do?_ she thought. Eloise figured that the best thing to do would be to show off some survival skills – after all, if she had the time, she thought it would be good to use it. She focused on knots, because she was used to working with it from making lassos, until the Gamemakers told her that her time was up.

* * *

 _Khara Imperium, 15, District Five_

* * *

Khara had spent the morning not doing much; she had heard the calls for the second, third, and fourth group as she read a book she had found on the floor. Finally, at 12:40, she heard the call for the fifth group. As she pressed the elevator button, the doors opened, and she found Pandora standing in it. "Good luck," Pandora said, as the girls switched places and Khara headed down to the waiting area. When she arrived, she sat on the bench, only thinking about her plan for the private session. Instinctively, she bit her nails out of nerves.

"I'm going to start with a quick check-in." The voice of the head trainer jerked Khara out of her daydream. "Carissa? Pix? Amaryllis? Khara? Weave? Great! A few instructions before you go in. Because we're not going in order, the Gamemakers will need to know your name and district, so please state that when you walk in. The Gamemakers will tell you when you may begin. Each of you has up to ten minutes where you can do whatever you would like in there; if you would like to leave early, please inform the Gamemakers, and they will dismiss you.

"The Gamemakers are currently on a break; please watch the screen for your name so that you know when to go in to the training room. Also, if any of you have any unusual requests for your private sessions, please let me know now, so that if there are any potential issues, I can fix them before you come in. This does not include needing a trainer; those will be readily available."

"Is there any station I can do for pattern recognition?"

"Yeah, that would be an offshoot of edible plants," Portia instructed. "All right, good luck girl!"

Khara gathered from the order that Portia said the names of the tributes that she would be going forth, so she knew she was in for a long wait. She kept thinking about the things she was planning to do, making sure that she didn't forget anything.

After about half an hour, it was just her and Weave in the waiting room. She finally saw her name flash onto the screen, so she got up and went into the training room.

"Khara Imperium, District Five," she announced. After a second, she received a thumbs up, indicating that it was time to go.

She had decided to start with some pretty simple survival skills, specifically fire-building and trap-making. Then, she moved on to the edible plants station, and showed that, despite her being from Five, she knew every single plant. Afterwards, she found a pattern recognition station; groups of letters, numbers, and colors appeared on a screen, and she managed to identify the pattern for 95 groups of letters and numbers in under a minute and a half.

Finally, it was time to show the thing she'd intentionally saved for last, because it was definitely the strongest thing she had. She went over to the throwing knives station, and centered herself across from a row of targets. Khara took a bit more time on the first throw, because she wanted to make sure to get it right; once she got into the flow of things, she was able to nail the bulls-eye for six of her ten shots.

Suddenly, she heard the Head Gamemaker say, "You're dismissed. Thank you, Khara."

Khara took the elevator up to the top floor. "Perfect timing," said Elias. "It's time for lunch!"

* * *

 _Bonnie Clearwater, 17, District Four_

* * *

Bonnie had noticed that there was a long break between the calls for the fifth and sixth groups. She figured that the Gamemakers were eating lunch, because they'd also eaten lunch on their floor at the same time. Now, more than an hour after lunch, she finally heard the call for her group, the seventh group, to come down.

When she reached the bottom floor, noticing that the doors had just closed, she was happy to find that Bellona was also in her group. The two made small talk until Portia came out. "I'm going to start with a quick check-in," she said wearily; clearly, she'd said the shame shpiel multiple times before that day. "Bonnie? Bellona? Melvina? Phoebe? Millicent?" A small cough indicated that the littlest of the group was indeed there. "Great! A few instructions before you go in. Because we're not going in order, the Gamemakers will need to know your name and district, so please state that when you walk in. The Gamemakers will tell you when you may begin. Each of you has up to ten minutes where you can do whatever you would like in there; if you would like to leave early, please inform the Gamemakers, and they will dismiss you.

"The Gamemakers are currently on a break; please watch the screen for your name so that you know when to go in to the training room. Also, if any of you have any unusual requests for your private sessions, please let me know now, so that if there are any potential issues, I can fix them before you come in. This does not include needing a trainer; those will be readily available.

"If you have any question, let me know and good luck."

Not three minutes after Portia left, the screen flashed Bonnie's name. She had a plan for what to do; immediately after the Gamemakers gave her the green light to go.

First, Bonnie wanted to show what she could do, so she did some trick shots with a crossbow and some running around the track. Then, it was time for her secret weapon. "Is there an inexperienced trainer that I can work with?" asked Bonnie. After a moment, an Avox came out to join her. "Excellent. Do you have any weapon you'd like to learn about?" The Avox pointed to the blowdarts. "How about swords," suggested Bonnie casually. The Avox shrugged. "Great!"

Bonnie then spent some time carefully teaching the Avox how to swordfight. After fighting with the Avox herself, she requested that the actual trainer come out to spar with the Avox. To her delight, she found that the Avox was able to hold his own with the trainer; though the trainer won, Bonnie was satisfied with what she'd been able to demonstrate.

"You are dismissed," said Amethyst when her ten minutes were up. Bonnie went back up to the fourth floor.

"Are you done?" asked Pacifica.

"Yep. Not too long until you go, now."

* * *

 _Elysia Hall, 15, District Six_

* * *

"Group Eight, please report to the training floor," announced the automated voice.

"Huh?" questioned Elysia.

"It's your turn," prodded Danira.

"When are you gonna go?" Elysia asked, as Danira helped her to the elevator.

"In the last group, somewhere around 6:15."

"Have fun!" waved Elysia, as she descended to the training floor. When she got there, she wandered over to a bench. Then she fell asleep, and only woke up when she felt someone nudge her, saying, "Elysia, it's your turn!"

Elysia wandered into the training room. Without consideration for anything else, she made a beeline to the station she'd most enjoyed working with for the previous two days: the camouflage station. She was enthralled by the colors, and painted them on her skin in patterns that she wasn't quite sure what they were. She kept going until one of the people looking at her from above her said, "That's all the time you have. What's your name?"

"Elysia. Bye!"

She went back into the elevator, and someone helped her get up to the floor. When she came out of the elevator, Danira said, "You look so colorful, Elysia."

"Thank you!"

* * *

 _Ravi Waterford, 18, District One_

* * *

Ravi was so done with waiting.

It figured that she, of all people, would be the last person to go for her private session. She was a generally patient person, too. But there was something about waking up at 9 AM for something that would be happening at 7 PM that made her feel more impatient than normal.

Finally, though, the screen flashed her name, and she went in to the training room.

"Ravi Waterford, District One," she announced. "But," she smiled, "I bet you figured that out."

"You may begin," Amethyst immediately replied.

First, Ravi decided to show her abilities with the Diamond Finger technique, possibly the most impressive thing she could do. She set up a row of progressively thicker wooden boards, then cut through them progressively faster, not messing up on a single one. After a few more endurance tricks, she finished with her favorite, the one where she balanced on two fingers, which she did until she was dismissed by the Gamemakers.

Ravi exited the room and made her way up to the top floor, where she was greeted by the rest of her district. "When does the broadcast come on?" she asked.

"About half an hour," replied Glaucus.

"We don't know how they did the scoring so fast, added Delilah, "but I'm excited to see what happens! Have some dinner for now, though."

Ravi quickly ate a piece of chicken, some French fries, and some snap peas. Then, everyone on the floor took a seat on the couch, and waited for the familiar faces of Harli Saleman and Dorian Muir to come on screen.

"Attention, tributes," announced an automated voice. "Tonight, on the broadcast, the scores of Lavender Aroma and Nyx Mynier will not be announced. We will give them to you now. Lavender has scored an eight, and Nyx has also scored an eight. Now, please turn your attention to the televisions for the announcement of the scores."

 _Impressive score for a little girl,_ thought Nyx. _I'll have to keep an eye out for her._

"Good evening, Panem!" announced Dorian, his elaborately made-up face suddenly popping onto the screen. "Tonight, we will find out the training scores of our 48 lovely District tributes!"

"That's right, Dorian," added Harli. "For the audience to know, the scores will be announced by District, and then alphabetically by last name. Let's get into it!"

Dorian began to read. "For District One. Delilah Ainsley has scored an…" he squinted as he looked at the paper. "Is that an 8.5?"

"I guess that the Gamemakers couldn't make up their minds, and with such a time crunch and so many scores to give out, they had to go with the middle ground," Harli explained. "That's certainly a first."

Dorian continued, "Incredible Grant has scored a 5.

"Arieyn Occisor has scored a 9.

"And Ravi Waterford has scored a 9."

"For District Two," Harli said. "Vixyn Kearne has scored a 10.

"Carissa Lovarre has scored an 8.

"Janari Lovarre has scored a 5.

"And Bellona Terminus has scored a 10."

Dorian took the next district. "For District Three. Pix Drexel has scored a 7.

"Muire Spencer has scored a 4.

"Drew Voltas has scored a 7.

"And Honey Voltas has scored a 3."

Harli picked up where Dorian left off. "For District Four. Nanami Cascade has scored a 7."

"Bonnie Clearwater has scored an 8."

"Pacifica Corwin has scored a 9."

"And Thyra Sereno has scored a 10."

All eyes on the floor in One turned to Arieyn, completely ignoring the rest of the Outer District training scores. Delilah said what they were all thinking: "So what does this mean for the Pack breakdown?"

Ravi watched intently as Arieyn looked at some notes she'd taken in her notebook. "So," Arieyn said carefully, "I think the pack will break down like this: the Upper Pack will be Delilah, me, Ravi, Pacifica, Thyra, Vixyn, and Bellona, and the Lower Pack will be Bonnie, Nanami, Lavender, Janari, Carissa, and Creddi. Now, that doesn't mean we'll break up immediately, and obviously, this will change once we see what the Selection situation is. But yeah. That's where it stands.

* * *

 _The Remaining Training Scores:_

 _Khara Imperium: 6_

 _Erin Mochurn-Fuego: 2_

 _Phoebe Nightingale: 3_

 _Pandora Eurydice Zachery: 6_

 _Ferrari Benz: 6_

 _Drenaline Fisher: 4_

 _Elysia Hall: 2_

 _Danira Muntaner: 6_

 _Euodia Grove: 7_

 _Elizah Klepper: 6_

 _Freida Muller: 7_

 _Nadina Spencer: 5_

 _Singer Brocade: 5_

 _Weave Flasherett: 5_

 _Silver Flower: 5_

 _Tistera Leone: 7_

 _Melvina Crusoe: 4_

 _Kylis Divola: 6_

 _Dania Kesten: 5_

 _Cayman Rye: 6_

 _Cheyenne Davanzo: 6_

 _Eloise LaBelle: 5_

 _Lennox Silverson-Smith: 7_

 _Peach Unk: 5_

 _Maddison Harper: 4_

 _Amaryllis Horne: 7_

 _Rain Peterson: 5_

 _Narcissa Wilder: 4_

 _Brooklyn Cherry: 1_

 _Douria Hovello: 4_

 _Millicent Jones: 3_

 _Brietta Westwood: 6_

* * *

 **So, there you go! I will be adding these training scores to the info about each tribute that you can find on my profile. I think I did these tributes justice. Let me know if you guys have any questions about the scores, but I think they're pretty good!**

 **My update speed is about to shoot up, because I finished high school! However, as you might have read from the summary of the story, we still have another five chapters until the Selection reveal. So if you're behind, which a lot of you are, don't freak out too much! And props if you're keeping up; I know my writing speed is super fast, and I have no update schedule, but you guys are phenomenal, and I'm so glad I have you!**

 **What do you think of the pack breakdown? Do you think these training scores make sense? Which ones are a bit high? Which ones are a bit low? Do you think they will impact Garnet's decisions at all?**

 **Next chapter, we'll see something that I know most SYOTs don't do, and that's interview prep. It will probably be a bit short, but I think it'll give some good insight into something that we don't see too often. Also, this is partly because I need it as a lead-in for the following chapter, which is the interviews with Garnet.**

 **Thanks again for all of your support!**

 **-goldie031**


	27. Interview Preparations

**Since last chapter, I have not received any more of the first check-ins. If you have not sent in the first check-in, please see the end of the D5 Reaping chapter; if you haven't sent in the second check in, see the end of the second training day chapter.**

* * *

 _Freida Muller, 16, District Seven_

* * *

"Good morning, girls!" called Polina. "Please get ready and then meet us in the common area. We have a few things to discuss about today's logistics."

Freida sat up and stretched. She decided that, since she was wearing a t-shirt and leggings as pajamas, she didn't need to change, and so she just brushed out her reddish hair and went out to join the rest of her district. Eventually, the other three girls joined her; it was Elizah who took the longest time, and so she ended up coming out to join everyone else last.

"So here's the plan," Polina said. "While we do have four mentors, we only have two escorts. So, I'm going to start with Euodia and Gigi is going to start with Elizah. While that's happening, Freida and Nadina will work with their mentors, Freida with Alvin and Nadina with Johanna. Once we're done, we'll switch. The catch is that, after lunch, you may be called at any minute for your interview with Garnet, which will be during your second round of work. The request has been made by Violet that you dress nicely today, whether that be in a dress, or a pantsuit, or something; she has also requested that you wear something in your district color. So you'll change after lunch for your interview."

Freida groaned. One of the disadvantages of being from Seven was that there was very little flexibility with the color she could wear. A girl from Eight or Four could wear a shade of purple or blue, but because Five and Seven had different shades of green, the girls from those districts had to wear their color. Needless to say, Freida was getting tired of forest green.

Polina's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Make sure to eat something for breakfast – it's gonna be a long day. You'll start in fifteen minutes."

Freida picked out a plate of thick pancakes for breakfast before she found Alvin waiting for her in a room. Freida had already figured out the way to work with Alvin effectively, and so she knew that the process wouldn't be difficult at all.

"So, Freida, what we need to focus on is an angle that you want to be portraying during your interview tomorrow night. We need to make sure that you're portraying yourself in a positive light this year especially, because of the potential to get saved by Garnet."

"But I don't want that!" exclaimed Freida. "He's from the Capitol. I don't want to be with him."

"But it'll keep you from dying, which will be good."

"Listen, Alvin," Freida commanded. "I don't care. I have an angle in mind, and I am going to play it. I'm gonna try to be nonchalant, but in an angry manner, like I can handle anything that comes my way. And whatever happens with that, happens."

"But Freida," cautioned Alvin. "You can't be too volatile."

"Who says? I can do what I want, God damn it!"

"Fine. But please, whatever you do, don't anger Garnet."

* * *

 _Peach Unk, 15, District Ten_

* * *

"Whatever you do, Peach, don't anger Garnet," Bessie cautioned.

Peach rolled her eyes. "Who says that I can't?"

"Peach, honey," Bessie said, "we want to make sure that you're safe. We have a lot of questions about how the Selection will work, but we know that the best way to make sure that you're safe is to be nice to Garnet."

"But I also don't want to be with Garnet. In the slightest. I'd rather be in the Games than be with him."

Bessie sighed. "So maybe, in your interview with him today, you can tell him that. But remember, if you make him too mad, he can totally do the opposite."

"But," Peach sighed, "why would he waste a slot on someone he would never date?"

"To spite someone? I don't know. Just listen to me, OK?" Bessie exclaimed.

"Fine."

Bessie took a deep breath. "So for your interview," she continued, "the best bet-"

"I don't want to talk about the stupid interviews anymore!" yelled Peach. "You've drilled into my head by now that I should be innocent. I don't want to be innocent, but I will try. Now I'm done." She got up and stormed out of the room, leaving Bessie dumbfounded and alone in the sitting room.

* * *

 _Nanami Cascade, 17, District Four_

* * *

"OK, Nanami, what are your thoughts on an angle?" asked her mentor, Amphetrite. The Victor of the 116th Games, Amphetrite had the distinction of being the only of Four's Victors ever to never kill; she actually stayed pretty far away from much of the carnage, because she would always volunteer to watch the Careers' stash of goods, and then managed to basically avoid the carnage after the Pack broke down. Consequentially, she was actually one of the stronger mentors, because she didn't have many of the PTSD effects of some of the other Victors.

"I think I want to talk about my siblings," Nanami said. "I really love them, and I think that's something that Garnet would like."

"That's a good idea! Make sure to bring it up with him tonight. I'm also pretty sure that the Capitol sponsors would eat that up. What if they ask you about your Games strategy?"

Nanami thought for a second. "I think I'm gonna tell them I'm hiding something," Nanami smirked. "Like I did get a 7, which is low for a Career, but I've got more to offer."

"Do you?"

"No," Nanami said matter-of-factly.

"So how do you feel about lying? I mean, if people are sponsoring you because they expect more from you, and you don't do anything, that could be problematic."

Nanami sighed. "Is there another option? I also need to boost my odds in the Career Pack. Even within the Lower Pack, I'm just a bit above Creddi and Janari, who have less training than I have. If it seems like I have something I've been hiding, it might give me more of a standing in it."

"OK," said Amphetrite. "But remember, that could have a greater effect on you than you could imagine right now."

"Do I have another choice?"

* * *

 _Jemimah Puddle, 16, Capitol_

* * *

Jemimah had enjoyed the four or so days she'd spent with the other Capitol girls. The four were staying in a suite in a hotel not far from the training center with their escort, Byzantine, and they hadn't really done much, just wait around, watch Hunger Games commentary, and get to know each other. Jemimah had been sharing a room with Lahainah, which had been an interesting experience for both girls. The two had equally extravagant, yet vastly different, styles, and so there was practically no overlap between their styles; as they were allowed to have their own outfits because they weren't training, they had each brought a few from home, but they didn't exactly have room for both sets. The much calmer pair of Varinia and Lilith had been amused by Lahainah and Jemimah's arguments.

The morning after the private sessions, the four girls woke up for breakfast as usual; however, they could tell that something would be different when Byzantine came into the room with a packet of papers. "OK, ladies," he announced, "we actually have a good amount to do today! Here is how this is gonna work. In the morning, we're going to be doing interview preparations for everyone except for Lilith. Then, immediately after lunch, we're going to leave for the Training Center, where Garnet is going to be conducting his interviews; you guys have to go there because the tributes can't leave. With the tributes, they're making them wear dresses in their district color to help everyone keep them straight, so you guys will also have to do that to make things fair. After you're all done, we'll come back together, and Lilith will do her prep.

"Each of you will have five minutes with Garnet, like the District tributes, as well as your televised three-minute interview tomorrow night. During our prep today, we're not going to really worry about walking correctly like the District girls have to, because you guys already know how to do that, so I'll work with you one by one to help you guys to figure out the best way to portray yourselves. So I'll start with Lahainah, and then call you one by one."

Byzantine took Lahainah into a side room; instantly, Jemimah's homemaker instinct kicked in. "Do you guys want tea?" she said. "Tea often goes good with breakfast."

Lilith shrugged. "That sounds nice and warm," she said. "I'll have some." Varinia nodded in agreement.

Jemimah carefully picked out three teabags from the large tea chest in the room, heated up the water to just the right temperature, and perfectly seeped them in the tea. Finally, she brought the three mugs to the table. "Enjoy," she said.

It made Jemimah incredibly happy to see Lilith's face light up at first taste. She certainly prided herself on her tea, and it did make her happy to get that affirmation that yes, she was in fact a decent-ish cook.

"How'd you learn to make such good tea?" asked Lilith.

"My mom," Jemimah replied. "Tea is important in our family. It's so important to my mom, who is a chef, that my sister Dana and I had skill at making tea, because it's the way we welcome guests into our home."

"That's so nice!" marveled Lilith. "I like that. My family doesn't really have anything like that, but that's partly because my parents work a lot, so I don't always get to see them."

"That's kind of sad."

The two spent a good amount of time talking and getting to know each other; they didn't even notice that Varinia had went in for her session with Byzantine. After a while, it was Jemimah's turn.

"Hello there, Jemimah," said Byzantine, as she entered the room. "Let's just have a chat!"

"Sounds good," Jemimah replied.

Byzantine took a breath, and consulted his notes. "So what is your thinking of the way to approach the interview?"

Jemimah shrugged. "I think just trying to be really fun and upbeat and stuff. Like, make Garnet want to meet me, you know?"

"That's a good idea. You seem to have a really good sense of what you want."

"Yeah, I suppose," Jemimah mused.

Suddenly, a green light went on in the room. "Oh!" Byzantine exclaimed. "We have to leave in five minutes!

"Girls!" he screamed. "Time to get changed!"

Jemimah ran into her room and put on a golden dress. The one she picked out was simple, knee-length, and sleeveless; the color of dress looked decent on her with her porcelain skin, but Lahainah's orange skin really clashed against it. The four girls then headed to the lobby of the hotel, where they joined Byzantine in a car to drive to the training center.

* * *

 _Euodia Grove, 17, District Seven_

* * *

Euodia had spent the morning working with Polina on what her escort called presentation. Being the mayor's daughter, she spent a good amount of time in front of the district, and so was used to carrying herself in the manner Polina intended. After a quick lunch, she put on a green blouse, black slacks, and black pumps, then began working with her mentor, Fir.

"Did you have an idea for an interview angle yet?" Fir asked the younger tribute.

"I had some ideas, but I'm not sure how well they will work," Euodia began. But she was cut off by the automated voice.

" _Will the following tributes please make their way to the roof for the private interviews: Khara Imperium of District Five, Lennox Silverson-Smith of District Ten, Maddison Harper of District Eleven, and Kylis Divola of District Nine._

"Just continue until they call your name," Fir instructed.

Euodia continued, "My big, overarching idea is a patriotic theme."

Fir smiled. "That worked for me."

"So I want to wear a laurel wreath, and a dress that looks like an eagle or phoenix, so that I can look like Panem's flag. And then I'll just talk about how much I love the Capitol."

"The sponsors will eat that up. You're smart!" Fir said.

"More importantly," continued Euodia, "Garnet will like it; it's always a good thing to have a First Lady who cares about the success of Panem."

"Great. Now, let's get working on some questions. And remember the key to success in these interviews: try not to anger Garnet."

For the next half an hour, Fir and Euodia worked tirelessly to prepare the tribute for her interviews. In that time, they were only interrupted once more, by a voice asking Melvina Crusoe from Nine, Brooklyn Cherry and Brietta Westwood from Twelve, and Carissa Lovarre from Two to come to the roof. Finally, they were getting to the meat of the questions.

"Tell me about your Games strategy," Fir asked.

"Well," Euodia began, but before she could continue, the pesky automated voice came back.

" _Will the following tributes please make their way to the roof for the private interviews: Pix Drexel of District Three, Euodia Grove of District Seven, Cayman Rye of District Nine, and Janari Lovarre of District Two."_

"Oh!" Euodia exclaimed, a bit shocked. "That's me!"

Fir patted her on the back. "We'll continue when you're done. Good luck!"

* * *

 **There we go, another chapter! Most SYOTs I've read skip the interview prep, but I wanted to include it for reasons that will become important later. I know it is a bit short, but I hope I conveyed some fun stuff here!**

 **We're getting closer and closer to the Games. Next chapter is Garnet's private interviews, and then there will be three chapters spanning the televised interviews, which you'll see why we need three when we get there.**

 **That's about it for now. Thank you all for your support!**

 **-goldie031**


	28. Garnet's Interviews

Garnet carefully got out of the hovercraft and stepped onto the roof of the training center. His mother followed him, then stepped in front and led him into a makeshift room set up on the roof. He entered the room to see two plush red armchairs, each with a little side table. On one side table was a large stack of papers; Garnet was kind of surprised by the number of pages in the stack

"So, here's what we've got, Garnet," Ruby instructed. "You prepared questions, and we've created packets for each girl. They're in order of how they'll come in; please don't switch the order."

Garnet nodded. He picked up the first packet and read it over. "What if I have other questions? And do I have to ask every question?"

"There's an extra page on the packet for extra questions. And no."

"And can I ask things like age and district?"

Ruby thought for a second. "Sure. That's a really good way to break the ice with the girl." She continued, "The door will automatically swing open when you hit time. You'll have five minutes, so use them wisely; though you don't have to use all five, I would advise it, unless your decision is quite simple. If you need anything from me, signal a number two into that camera; there is no way to record audio in this room for the privacy of the girls. And have fun!" Ruby gave her son a kiss on the head. "I am so proud of you."

* * *

 _Brooklyn Cherry, 12, District Twelve_

* * *

Brooklyn waited anxiously outside of the room; she felt glad that she was sitting next to Brietta, who could help keep her calm. The murder of her brother had made little Brooklyn anxious and silent; gone was the bubbly twelve-year-old who would bounce down the lane of the merchant section of Twelve, replaced by a twitching ball of nerves. And through Brook noticed the change, and to a certain degree resented it, she was powerless to stop it.

The little one anxiously watched the door of the little room constructed on the roof. She had caught a glimpse of Garnet during the Tribute Parade, but hadn't really been able to get face-to-face with him. Brook didn't really understand who he was or what he was doing, but she'd gathered from the other girls' reactions that liking him would be a good idea.

Suddenly, the door opened and Melvina walked out. Brooklyn took a deep breath and waited for a few more seconds until Garnet called, "Brooklyn Cherry?"

Brooklyn stood up, smoothed out her dress, and entered the room. She took a seat in the plush arm chair across from Garnet, who had a clipboard with a packet of papers on it.

"Hello, Brooklyn," Garnet said warmly. "How are you doing today?" Brooklyn gave him a shy, almost invisible smile. "Good. I'm just going to ask you a few quick questions. It shouldn't take much more than five minutes, OK?" Brooklyn nodded.

"You're twelve years old, right? And when do you turn thirteen?"

"July 18," Brook said quietly, almost inaudibly.

"So you just turned twelve? Happy birthday!"

Brooklyn's shy smile returned. "Thank you," she murmured.

"I'm just going to ask you a few questions," Garnet said, writing down a few notes. "If you don't want to answer, that's totally fine, but it will help me out a lot if you do, OK?"

Brooklyn gave a little nod. Something about Garnet made her feel really comfortable, almost like she was back with Noah again.

"So my first question is, how would you describe yourself?"

"I dunno," Brooklyn muttered. "I'm twelve. I have blonde hair. I have blue eyes."

Garnet clarified, "I mean your personality." Brooklyn cocked her head to the side. "Like are you happy most of the time, or sad?"

"I'm not a person who gets scared," Brooklyn said. "If that's what you mean."

"That's great! Do you know your sexual identity?"

"My what?"

Garnet smiled. "Never mind. Now, what do you like to do when you have time at home?"

"Go to school," said Brooklyn. "And I used to like to play with my brother." A tear crept into Brooklyn's eye. "Before he died."

"I'm so sorry! When did he die?"

"The day before the Reaping." Brooklyn suddenly began full-on crying. Garnet immediately put down his clipboard, went over to her armchair, and rubbed her back until she calmed down.

"I have one last question for you," he said, as her sobs turned to sniffles. "Would you rather go into the Selection or into the Games?"

"I just don't want to die."

* * *

 _Douria Hovello, 14, District Twelve_

* * *

Douria came up to the roof in a group with Amaryllis from Eleven, Nadina from Seven, and Tistera from Eight. She sat in the fifth of six chairs; as each girl in front of her went in, all of the other girls moved down one seat. It was just a matter of waiting.

Finally, everyone in front of her had gone, and it was her turn. Douria took deep breaths as she waited for her name to be called. She thought through her strategy; she had to make herself as desirable as possible to Garnet, so that she could get back to her girlfriend, Mara.

Finally, it was her turn to go into the room. She carefully smoothed out her dress as she sat on the armchair.

"Hi Douria," Garnet said, holding his hand out for her to shake it. "We're just going to be going over a few questions. You should know that there is video recording in here, just in case, but there is nothing that will record audio, and the camera is facing me. Therefore, anything you say in here will be confidential; as that is the case, I request that you be completely honest with me, OK?"

"Sounds good," Douria nodded.

"In that case, we'll get started. So how old are you, Douria?"

"I'm fourteen," she answered, "but I'll be fifteen in about a month."

"And you're from Twelve?"

"Correct."

"Let's talk about yourself. How would you describe yourself in six words?"

Douria thought for a moment. "Open and carefree, except with family."

Garnet looked concerned. "Why do you behave differently with your family than you do with other people?"

Douria took a deep breath. She know that what she was about to say could totally screw her over in the Selection. "Because I'm not straight, but I haven't told my dad or brother yet." _That was a good way to say that_ , thought Douria. _It wasn't a lie, even though it wasn't the whole truth._

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to disappoint them. They're all I have."

Garnet read through his packet, jotting down a few notes, then looked at Douria again, his eyes taking on a warmer glint than before.

"So what do you do when you have free time?" he asked.

"I help out at a little market in the district," Douria explained. "My… friend has a stall there that I help sell at. It's a fun way to help her make a bit of money."

"That's so nice!"

The two continued to talk about Douria's work in what she knew was called the Hob for a little while, as Garnet probed her a few other questions. Finally, he said, "I have one final question for you. Would you rather go into the Selection, or go into the Games?"

"The Selection," she said firmly. "No question about it."

The door swung open. "Thank you so much," Garnet said, shaking Douria's hand again. "This was a pleasure."

"No, thank you!" Douria stepped out of the room and took another deep breath. Hopefully, she did enough to get picked.

* * *

 _Lilith Russe, 17, Capitol_

* * *

"Next!" came the familiar voice from inside the room. Lilith knew that he had been calling out the names of the other tributes he was interviewing, so she figured that he didn't feel a need to call out her name.

"Hi Garnet," Lilith said. "How's the whole thing going?"

"It's a long process," Garnet admitted. "We can talk for a while, but I only have five minutes with you anyway. It's been like…" Garnet checked his watch. "An hour and a half, I think. Which is a long time. You're a good break."

"Thanks, I think," Lilith said. "Are you getting anywhere?"

"Yeah. I have some ideas of who to pick. And of who I definitely don't want to pick." He smiled.

"Can you tell me where I fall on the list?"

"I wish I could," Garnet said, "but I really don't think I can. Now, let me ask you a few questions just so I can say that I asked. What's your sexual orientation?"

"Bi," responded Lilith matter-of-factly.

"And what do you like to do?"

"Dance ballet and write poetry."

"Very nice. I knew that." Garnet flipped through more pages of questions. "I really think that's it. I know a lot about you anyway."

"OK. Thanks, G." Lilith walked out of the room, her fingers figuratively crossed; every bone in her body wanted Garnet to pick her. It would be a match made in heaven; they'd grown up together, and she deeply hoped that they could grow old together.

* * *

 _Cheyenne Davanzo, 17, District Ten_

* * *

"Cheyenne Davanzo," called Garnet from inside the room. Cheyenne straightened out her magenta dress – it wasn't exactly her preferred burgundy, but it was close enough – and entered the room with Garnet.

"Hi Cheyenne," Garnet said, holding his hand out to shake it. "We're just going to be going over a few questions. You should know that there is video recording in here, just in case, but there is nothing that will record audio, and the camera is facing me. Therefore, anything you say in here will be confidential; as that is the case, I request that you be completely honest with me, OK?"

Cheyenne nodded, and returned his handshake.

"So you're seventeen?" Garnet asked. Cheyenne nodded. "And from Ten?"

"Born and braised – oops, I mean raised," Cheyenne giggled. "Livestock humor."

Garnet gave a polite smile, and quickly jotted down a few notes. "Thank you. Now, let's talk about yourself. How would you describe yourself in six words?"

"A major perfectionist from District Ten."

Garnet tried to hide his look of confusion. "And do you have a concept of your sexuality?"

"Straight."

"What do you do at home? Do you have a job?"

"I work with cows," Cheyenne deadpanned.

"Is there anything that's not what we imagine as being from Ten that you like to do?"

"Swim. Ten borders water, actually."

Garnet smiled. Finally, he was getting somewhere.

"Tell me about your family."

"I have three siblings," Cheyenne began, "Colt, Dean, and Lana. The boys do most of the work with the cows with my dad, while Lana, my mom, and I milk and care for the cows while they're not out in the pastures."

"Do you have a favorite cow?"

Cheyenne finally smiled. "There's a little calf that I really like. But he'll probably be grown up when I get back. If I get back."

"Which leads me to my last question. Would you rather go into the Selection, or the Games?"

Cheyenne shrugged. "The Selection would definitely be better."

"Then that's all. Thank you, Cheyenne!" Garnet exclaimed, trying to get more energy into her, but it didn't work. Cheyenne stepped out of the room, and definitely felt like the interview was short. She knew she hadn't said long answers, but she hoped she still had a shot.

* * *

 _Bellona Terminus, 17, District Two_

* * *

Bellona was glad that she was the last interview. She was hoping that she'd be able to talk to him honestly; it was important for her to communicate certain things with him in the five minutes she had. On the other hand, she didn't want to overstep his boundaries; that was very important for her.

"Bellona?" came the voice from inside the room, as Thyra stepped out, a small smile on her face. Bellona stood up, smoothed out her grey dress, and entered the room, settling into the armchair and shaking his hand.

"Hi, Bellona," Garnet said. "We're just going to be going over a few questions. You should know that there is video recording in here, just in case, but there is nothing that will record audio, and the camera is facing me. Therefore, anything you say in here will be confidential; as that is the case, I request that you be completely honest with me, OK?"

Bellona nodded; internally, she felt a huge sigh of relief rush through her. The things she wanted to say, she could, because there was no way anyone from Two would find out about them.

"So you are 17, and from District Two, yes?"

Bellona nodded.

"Very nice. Do you like it in Two?"

"I'm lucky that I get to train," she vaguely replied.

"So what do you do when you're not training?"

"I like to walk and swim," she mused, "and I do enjoy training, for the working out part."

Garnet jotted down a few things. "Now, tell me about yourself in six words."

"Hmm… Very patriotic but also slightly fearful."

"And do you have a concept of your sexuality?"

"Straight," Bellona replied instantly. "I tried to date a girl once; it ended badly for both of us." She gave a shy smile.

"Now. Tell me about your family."

"Hoo boy," breathed Belle. "Well, my grandmother is Enobaria."

" _The_ Enobaria?"

"Yes, the one who ripped a tribute's throat out. My whole family has trained. My brother is Orion Terminus, the one who won the 114th Games."

"So you have pedigree," Garnet mused. "Interesting. So they would expect you to want to go into the Games, then?"

"Yeah, but…" Bellona trailed off.

Garnet waited patiently for her to continue, but she didn't. "He looked her straight in the eye and said in a harsh tone, "I need you to tell me what you're about to say. It can only benefit you."

"I… I… I'd rather not go into the Games," Belle admitted. She saw Garnet's eyes widen a little bit, but continued anyway. "I know I'll be seen as a disappointment if I voluntarily don't go in, but they scare me, and I'm not sure if they're still necessary the way they are. And I'm scared that I'll die, and I don't want that. But Careers can't show fear, can they? No." She took a deep breath. "Thank you for letting me get that off my chest. I've needed to do that for a while."

"Has Enobaria said that she would be angry if you got picked?"

"She said not, but…"

"I understand." The door swung open. "Thank you for your time," finished Garnet. "I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Garnet walked into his house with a briefcase of tribute packets in his right hand.

"Hi honey," said Ruby, coming up to her son to give him a hug. "How did it go?"

Garnet looked at the briefcase. "I did a lot of writing and thinking, but I think it went well. Some of them were easier to talk to than others, though."

"That's natural. Now, I want you to start to make your list. Remember, twenty-six of them go on your list. You can change this list as many times as you'd like, but I need the final version by midnight tomorrow."

Garnet nodded. He took the briefcase into his room, opened it, and spread out the 52 packets.

He had a lot of work to do.

* * *

 **Hey friends!**

 **I hope you liked this chapter! I know we didn't get to see each and every tribute's interview with Garnet, but there really are too many, so I had to minimize it to this, partly because of what other POVs I needed at different points. But I hope you got a sense of how things would go! If you have any other questions about this process, feel free to let me know. Also, for the record, I am randomizing the order for things, so if you're seeing certain names a lot of times, it's just the way the randomizer worked.**

 **I'm currently toying with the idea of adding in a fourth, super short chapter that will come after this one; I'll start writing and see if I like it by itself or if I want to put it with the rest of the first part of the interview section. Know that, just like we saw here, we're not going to see every tribute in the interview section; I think we'll see seven or eight of them, though.**

 **Hope you enjoyed. Make sure to send in check-ins!**

 **-goldie031**


	29. A Pre-Taped Interview

_Lavender Aroma, 12, District One_

* * *

"Good morning, Lavender," said Tyranny, her mentor. "How are you this morning?"

"I'm doing OK, but kinda bored. Am I doing stuff today?" the little one responded.

"Yes, actually. You're going to be having a taped interview, just in case you go into the Games, so the people can get to know you a bit better. That'll happen right after lunch. For now, you're going to get to work with Capek, me, and Vane, and we'll help you get ready for the interview. Don't freak out too much about an angle – we did talk a little bit about it yesterday. Just be yourself. Now come on!"

Lavender followed Tyranny into her bedroom, where she found the other two victors, Vane and Capek, waiting for her; as Lavender didn't have a stylist or a prep team, which she wouldn't unless she won, the three female Victors would help with her hair, makeup, and picking an outfit. After a little time, Lavender ended up in a knee-length, sleeveless, lavender dress, nude stockings, and a pair of white kitten heels. Vane gave her lavender blonde hair some bouncy curls, and Capek put a little bit of lavender eyeshadow over her eyelids to complete the look. Finally, Lavender looked in the mirror. "I look a bit young, don't you think?"

"Sure," said Tyranny, "but we do want you to look young. Your biggest weapon is that you won't look intimidating. Don't be afraid to bring up your skills in the interview though; the other tributes won't see it."

Tyranny escorted Lavender up to the roof; when they got there, they found Katniss and Nyx waiting outside of a room, which had been enlarged from the day before to accommodate the cameras, though neither tribute knew that. The two tributes eyed each other nervously; neither was completely sure how the other got the score they got, but they both knew that it would be a good idea to keep an eye on each other.

"OK, girls," said a woman, coming out of the room on the roof with Harli Saleman, the host and interviewer of the Games. "My name is Portia and I'm the stage manager for all of the Games things that are televised."

"Isn't the head trainer also named Portia?" Lavender asked.

"We're very different people, but yes. Anyway, what we're going to do right now is tape an interview that will be shown if you go into the Games. The process may be long, especially for just a five-minute segment, but it'll come out really nicely. Now yes, I did say five minutes; because the Capitol audiences won't have gotten to know you before they see this. Just do whatever you would have done on a televised interview, except it'll be recorded, not live. At the end, please wait in the chair until you're dismissed.

"Being younger, Lavender will go first. Why don't you head into the room with everyone else, and we'll get started!"

Lavender went into the room and took a seat on one armchair; Harli sat down across from her. The interviewer had a magical ability to make people feel comfortable around her, and Lavender certainly felt it.

A man wearing all black slid a belt under Lavender's dress and clipped a little lavender clip to her neclkine. "It's a microphone, so we can pick up the sound better," he explained.

Then, after more waiting, Portia took out a square with a little rectangle on top of it. "Lavender Aroma, Backup Interview, Take One and hopefully only." She clacked the little rectangle on top of the square, waited a moment, then said, "Action!"

"It's such a pleasure to meet you, Lavender."

"And you as well, Harli! I'm just so excited for this – if people are seeing this, it means I'm going into the Games!"

Harli was a bit shocked. "Let me get this straight. You're only twelve, and you want to go into the Games?"

"Yes! I've been training for this for around ten years. I am more than ready!"

"That's quite a long time to be training," remarked the interviewer.

"Yes. Did you know," Lavender boasted, "that I have been training for longer than some of the other Careers? And I even got a higher score than three of them!"

"Than… Incredible, Janari, and Nanami right?"

"Yeah, though I guess beating Nanami is really my only accomplishment, and even that isn't great, because she stopped training three years ago. Janari never trained, and Creddi is kind of incapable."

"But," Harli cautioned, looking at a page with all of the training scores, "you did manage to tie Carissa and Bonnie, which is quite good."

"And Nyx," mused Lavender.

"And Nyx. So what do you think of the circumstance that might put you into the Games?"

Lavender thought for a second. "It is kind of odd. I mean, there's so much uncertainty with it. But on the other hand, everyone is dealing with that uncertainty."

"That is very true. But you still have the chance of going in later on in life."

"Some of the younger Careers might too," cautioned Lavender, "if they volunteer, I guess. I would certainly rather have more time to prepare to go in, because there's always more to learn."

Harli smiled. "Let's move on to talking about your home life a bit more."

Lavender perked up. "So I'm an only child. My mom is a bit crazy; she was the one who put me in training at age 2, but I also model, dance, and play violin, and am pretty good at all of them."

"Wow! How do you have time for all of that?"

"School takes a bit of a backseat; I'm only in school for four hours a day, and I only sleep for eight. On Saturdays and Sundays, I have lessons as well. It's tiring, but everything intertwines. Like the gracefulness of dance helps with being more graceful in my movements, and being more flexible to do attack and defense stuff. And I play violin fast, just like fast and clean jerks with knives."

Harli nodded. "What about your friends?"

"I have a friend group of three very close friends, named Yzma, Destiny, and Stardust. I have a different relationship with all of them, but I'm glad to have them all in my life."

"That's so nice!"

"I also socialize with a bunch of other kids in my year, and in the year above and below me."

Suddenly, a buzzer went off. "This was a very enjoyable interview," Harli finished. "Thank you so much, Lavender!"

"This was a pleasure."

Lavender waited for a little while. "We're just checking audio," Portia explained. Finally, she came into the room. "We're all good. Thank you, Lavender; you may now head back to your floor."

"Thanks!" Lavender got up, and made her way back to the District One floor. As the elevator doors opened, she noticed Arieyn, half-ready for her interview, sneaking out of her room. "I like your lipstick, Arieyn. It's so red and shiny!"

Arieyn put a finger sternly to her mouth. She snuck over to the refrigerator, took out a bright red cup and a bottle of deep purple juice, and poured herself some liquid. Then, Lavender watched as she took a vial out from her bra, uncorked it, and dumped the white powder into the cup. As she raised it to her lips, a voice from the direction of the tributes' rooms called out, "ARIEYN!"

Arieyn put the cup down on the table. "What?"

"You said you were going to the bathroom," scolded Midas, the head of her prep team. "The lipstick we used is super expensive, even by Capitol standards, and you can't mess it up!"

"But I need to drink this."

"You can do it later, Arieyn. Come on. Now!"

"One second." Arieyn turned to one of the Avoxes on the floor. "Whatever you do, make sure NOBODY touches this cup until I get back after the interview, OK?" The Avox nodded. "That goes for you too, Lavender."

"I wouldn't touch it if my life depends on it," Lavender assured the older girl. _Because it probably does._

* * *

 **Wow, two chapters in one day? That's a record for me! I wasn't sure if I was going to split this from the stuff next chapter, but then it ended up being over 1,000 words, and I was like, yeah, let's split them up! Plus, I wanted your reaction to this separately from what will happen next chapter, for reasons you'll see later on.**

 **Anyway, what do you think?** **Do you like Lavender?** **Do you think it was too long? What is going on with Arieyn?**

 **Next chapter may take a bit longer to get out, because I have a crazy next few weeks, but I'm so excited for you guys to see it!**

 **Thanks for all your continuous support, and your patience with these super-fast updates.**

 **-goldie031**


	30. Interviews, Part 1

_Lahainah Pele, 18, Capitol_

* * *

"OK, ladies, please listen up!"

Lahainah was standing in the green room behind the stage that had been constructed outside of the training center, awkwardly separated from the District tributes. There was a palpable tension in the air, and she was glad that her nerves were much, much calmer; after all, her life wasn't on the line. She turned to face the woman standing on a chair, clearly about to relay important information to the tributes.

"My name is Portia Andeers," said the woman. "No, I am not the same person as the head trainer. I'm going to give you some very important information regarding these interviews.

"Like pretty much everything else this year, the order of the interviews has been randomized. When you hear your name, come up to the front of the room and take a seat in the next open chair; the three people 'on deck' at any given time will be sitting in them. You can also see the whole running order on the papers taped to the walls. Once you've sat down, someone will give you a microphone, and then Niro, our assistant stage manager, will let you know when to go on stage.

"You will be on stage one at a time, and there will be a little break after every thirteen interviews. Once you're done and we've taken off your mic, you may go up to your floor; if we need to convey any information to you, we will do it via the loudspeakers. At this time, I need our first three tributes, Rain Peterson, Drenaline Fisher, and Lahainah Pele to come up to the chairs; we will begin in a few minutes. Good luck!"

Lahainah approached the chairs, a little knot forming in her stomach. She sat down on the third of the three chairs, and allowed a man to put a belt around her waist under the dress and clip a little clip to her dress, the exact same shade of red-orange as the flowing fabric that puffed out from her waist. When it was time to begin, Rain, dressed in a knee-length pink dress, went onto the stage; she and Drenaline moved over a chair, making room for Honey. Then the process repeated when it was Drenaline's turn, leaving the third chair open for little Erin. Finally, it was Lahainah's time to shine.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, from right here in the Captiol," trumpeted Harli, "please welcome Lahainah Pele!"

Lahainah glided on stage, then took the seat next to Harli. She was admittedly slightly starstruck; it was pretty cool to meet someone that you'd seen doing Hunger Games commentary since you were a little kid.

"So how are you, Lahainah? How has this week been for you?"

"It has been a blast," Lahainah replied. "It's been so cool to be so up-close and personal with the Games! I've had so much fun helping my stylist design my outfits; that's what I want to do someday, so it was cool to get to work on it now!"

"So you want to be a stylist when you grow up?"

"Yeah, that would be ideal! This week has been such good practice for me; I feel like I'm really ready to do so when I grow up."

"So tell me about yourself. Who is Lahainah Pele?" prodded Harli.

"Well," Lahainah said, "I am obsessed with mythology. I love learning about different ancient gods and goddesses, characters and beasts, and the way they left their legacy on the world. My favorite is Hawaiian mythology; I like to take after Pele, the Hawaiian deity of fire."

"Wasn't he an ancient soccer player?"

Lahainah smiled. "Clearly, you don't know your mythology. Pele was someone wo was powerful and passionate, but jealous. She was the goddess of volcanoes. Legend has it that she created the ancient Hawaiian Islands from her lava."

"That's quite neat!"

"Yeah," mused Lahainah. "I tend to like fire gods from other forms of mythology, too. Like Gedi, from Fijian mythology, who was the god of fire and fertility, and Hestia or Vesta, the goddess of the hearth and its fires. You see, Roman mythology was an offshoot of Greek mythology, so many gods from Greek myths have parallel Roman stories, like Hestia and Vesta, or Hephaestus and Vulcan."

"Wow," marveled Harli. "I never thought I'd learn so much about mythology from someone I was interviewing! Now, tell me what you think about Garnet."

Lahainah shrugged. "I mean, he's a nice guy, but not someone that I really want to be with."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well… I already have a boyfriend. His name is Hephaestus."

"That's fitting," Harli smiled. "But don't you think it would be dangerous for you to tell Garnet that?"

"I mean, not really," Lahainah admitted. "I mean, there's no risk of me dying, and it'll free up a spot for someone else."

"Well, that's quite nice of you!" Suddenly, the buzzer rang. "Well, that's all the time we have. Best of luck, Lahainah, and I hope that we get to see you as a stylist soon!"

* * *

 _Narcissa Wilder, 18, District Eleven_

* * *

Narcissa sat anxiously on the chair closest to the stage, next to Peach, who was in turn next to Lennox. She was not worried about being on the stage, but about keeping up her interview angle; being kind and nice was not exactly her forte.

"All right, Narcissa," said Niro, "it's your turn." Narcissa glared at him, as she hated being told what to do, but put on a fake smile and made her way to the stage.

"Now, please welcome, all the way from District Eleven, Narcissa Wilder!"

Narcissa came out on stage, trying to give off an aura of all good things. She carefully sat down, but managed to sit on a fold of her dress; a scowl formed again on her face, because her dress, while it looked pretty, was actually quite itchy if one sat wrong.

"So how are you today, Narcissa?"

"I'm doing OK," she said, attempting to put the smile back on her face. "And you?"

Harli smiled. "I'm doing fine! Let's start by you telling me about your family."

"Well, it's just me and my parents."

"Do you have a good relationship with them?"

"They let me annoy them."

Harli gave a cautious giggle. "That's… nice? Now, do you have any friends at home?"

"Just my friend Leticia. But she's not the brightest." The fake smile was still plastered on her face.

Harli, desperate to keep things going positively, continued, "So how do you feel about the Games?"

"I'm not too worried. After all, I think I will win."

"Tell me why," prodded Harli.

"Because things always go well for me."

"What?"

"I have this curse, you see? I try to screw things up, but for some reason, they always go right. So even if I tried to lose the Games, I would still end up winning. Because that's just what happens to me!"

Harli was stunned. "But don't you think it's a bad idea to be so arrogant with Careers watching?"

Narcissa suddenly became incredibly irritable. "I don't think anything is a bad idea, thank you very much. I'll do just fine by myself!"

"And what do you think about Garnet?"

"Meh."

The buzzer rang. "Well," smiled Harli, "I hope your 'curse' follows through. Good luck, Narcissa!"

As the tribute left the stage, Harli felt a palpable sense of relief. She had never been more glad to be done with an interview in her life.

* * *

 _Incredible Grant, 18, District One_

* * *

This interview was exactly what Creddi had been waiting for. She was pretty sure that she'd made a good impression on Garnet already, but tonight would seal the deal.

"All right, Creddi. You ready?" said Niro. Creddi nodded enthusiastically. "They're coming out of a break, so you'll be preset on stage. Good luck!"

Creddi flounced onto the stage and took her seat next to Harli as the crowd cheered. Her fluffy pink dress was on the short end, and accented with a large matching bow on her back. After a bit of waiting, she saw a man in black to her left motion three times with his hand, then exaggeratedly point to Harli.

"Welcome back to the annual televised interviews! Next up, we have everyone's favorite tribute from One, Incredible Grant!"

"Thank you, Harli," giggled Creddi. "I'm so happy to be here to compete for Garnet's love!"

"So you're really here for Garnet, aren't you?"

"Why, yes!" Incredible exclaimed. "That's why I volunteered, after all! I need a man in my life, and there's no better man than Garnet. I've got the wealth and status, he just needs to pick me!"

"So you're not scared about going into the Games," Harli clarified.

"Why would Garnet want to turn down this?" She motioned to herself, though her stick-thin body didn't really have much definition.

"But you at least have some training."

Creddi giggled again. "A little bit, but like, I preferred to party than to actually train. But whatever! I'm sure I'll be able to be with him at the end!"

Harli smiled. "Now, tell me about your family."

"I have the best parents in the world," Creddi gushed. "They gave me everything I wanted, so much so that I never had to do anything for myself really ever. My little brother Wonder is OK at training, and most likely not volunteer material, and Henna is going to follow in my footsteps as a phenomenal party person, just like me!"

"And what would you say is your secret weapon, Incredible?"

"I'm just amazing in so many ways," she smiled. "Garnet will love me!"

Suddenly, the buzzer rang. "Well, best of luck to you, Incredible Grant!"

Some of the other girls had decided to stay to watch the rest of the interviews, but Creddi wanted to watch from the comfort of her room. Not to mention that she was a little hungry. She took the elevator up to the District One floor and headed towards the kitchen to get something to eat.

The elevator doors opened. When she went into the kitchen, she found a red cup of her favorite fruit juice on the table. _Oh well,_ thought Creddi. _If you don't drink it, you lose it._

Unfortunately for her, she didn't notice the Avox motioning desperately to her. She took a sip, noticing that it tasted a bit weird. She put it down and went to take a seat on the couch, as she fell into a deep, deep sleep...


	31. Karma

Ruby Emerald sat in her box, watching the last of the second group of interviews conclude. Thyra was doing a great job of showing herself off; she seemed quite comfortable on the stage, telling jokes and bantering back and forth with Harli, who was holding her own as well.

As the interview concluded, Ruby turned around and noticed two people standing behind her, namely Amethyst, the head Gamemaker, and Ryder, District One's secondary escort. Both of them were looking extremely nervous.

"What happened?" Ruby asked.

"Just come with us. It's not good," replied Amethyst.

"OK. One second." Ruby turned to Garnet. "If I'm not back, make sure that Violet gets that list by midnight tonight. You may make any changes you want until then, but when it goes to Violet, the list is final." Garnet nodded. Ruby got up and followed the other two into the Training Center, where they took the elevator up to the District One floor. When the doors opened, the scene she saw surprised her, though it wasn't something she hadn't dealt with before in some capacity.

On one of the couches was the dead body of Incredible Grant. Gloss, looking shocked, was standing over it, along with the other District One mentors. On the other couch was Delilah Ainsley, whose face was stained with tears, and Lavender, who seemed very out of it.

"What happened here, Gloss?" Ruby asked, turning to the Victor. Pre-Games accidents weren't unheard of, the last one having happened to Oakline Sint during the Fourth Quell, but this one certainly seemed more unusual, because it involved a tribute from One.

"Well, I'm not so sure," he said. "Creddi was the first interview, so I guess something happened between hers and Delilah's up here. When Delilah came to the floor and found Creddi's body, she screamed and started crying, though I think they were tears from shock more than actually missing Creddi, with all due respect to her. Luckily, the cameras picked everything up, and Ryder and I were alerted that there was a situation; Glaucus had to stay at the interviews because he has to handle sponsors there. When we got here, we found Creddi dead on the couch."

Lavender suddenly piped up. "Might this have anything to do with the red cup on the table?"

Gloss went over to the cup and examined it. His brow furrowed. "Yep, I know what happened." He turned to Ruby. "By now, it's no secret that we train our tributes, yes?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "I would say that's accurate."

"So most times, we have tributes who are good with physical weapons; Arieyn, on the other hand, is good with poison. When we have poison tributes, we often build up their immunity to one poison or another before their Games, which is what Arieyn was doing. Every day, she took a dose of the poison, along with some things that helped it get down without killing her."

Ruby groaned. "So what you're telling me is that one of your tributes left a cup containing a high dose of poison on the table, out in the open, where anybody could take it?"

"Well, the poison had to sit in the juice so it could activate," Gloss lied. "Plus, everyone else would have been smart enough to not drink something from someone else's cup. Not Creddi."

Ruby took a deep breath. "Let me confer with Amethyst for a moment. Nobody move." The two sisters moved to another area of the District One floor.

"This is your call, Ruby," Amethyst said. "Just know that I need 24 tributes for the Games; we went over that at the very beginning of the process."

"I know," Ruby replied. "I have an idea, but I want to run it by you first.

"My thinking is make them send us another tribute to replace Creddi, essentially serving as a third backup tribute. If Creddi ends up being picked by Garnet, she'll replace her, but I don't expect Garnet to pick her in the end. If Creddi wasn't picked, the other girl will go into the Games."

"But what do we tell the other tributes if she goes into the Games?"

"You know that there isn't going to be a standard bloodbath this year because of the Arena. We launch her near someone from One for her sake, and they'll relay the message about it to the other Careers. If she dies, we display Creddi's face, and the Victor will find out otherwise later on if it's not the replacement tribute. It's called dramatic irony, and what the tributes don't know won't hurt them."

Amethyst nodded, processing her sister's idea. "You know, I like that. There's a reason that you're the president and I'm not."

Ruby and Amethyst returned to the rest of the District One team assembled on the floor. "OK," she proclaimed. "Here is what we've come up with. You are going to select another tribute from your district to replace Creddi, no matter what happens. The other tributes won't know what's happening unless they're told. But, we are going to leave it up to you in terms of who you pick to replace Creddi. Tomorrow, she'll come in to do a training session with the Gamemakers and a pretaped interview before lunch, for the sake of the Capitol audience, so we'll go get her tonight. After all, District One is close."

Gloss and Josan turned to each other; there wasn't enough time to get the other District One mentors, so the decision would be left largely up to them. "I think it's your call, Gloss," Josan, Creddi's mentor, admitted.

"So let me ask you this, my friends. Do we think Garnet will pick Creddi or not?"

The room fell silent as the mentors thought carefully about Gloss's question.

"I think," Tyranny said, "that he will pick her, honestly. As much as I know she's a wildcard, she got a low training score for a Career. I think Garnet will pity her, and know that she'll be an early Career target, so I think he will."

"But don't you think that Garnet will change his mind after her interview?" Josan pointed out. "After all, she seemed relatively grating during it."

"Look," Tyranny pointed out, "I don't think there's any single thing that could cause Garnet so much aggravation that he would change his mind, because I'm pretty sure that the interviews that happened out there are similar to the ones that happened yesterday."

Everyone nodded in agreement. "I guess it's Blaze, then," Gloss concluded.

* * *

 _Blaze Donohue, 18, District One_

* * *

As Blaze got off the phone with Gloss, one thought pulsed through her mind.

 _Karma is a bitch._

Blaze wasn't a huge believer in karma, but she did believe that, if someone did something quite qrong, that they would get what they deserved. And Creddi certainly did. This Quell was _her_ shot at a better life, not Creddi's; there was a reason she had been picked in the first place. She had worked for her shot at Garnet, while Creddi had just waltzed in and taken it.

The one good thing that came out of it was that she'd been able to celebrate her 18th birthday, two days after Reaping day, with her mother. There was nobody about whom Blaze cared more than her mom, and while Happy was supportive of her daughter fighting for Garnet's heart, she knew that she would've missed her daughter while she was away. Now, they were able to celebrate the momentous occasion together.

Admittedly, she was still a bit nervous about going in. If she'd understood Gloss correctly, her fate was dependent on what Garnet decided about Creddi. And while she hoped that she'd end up in the Selection, she wasn't holding her breath; she'd watched Creddi's interview, and it didn't seem to work well. While she had a shot in the Games, she knew the one thing that would be holding her back.

It was called osteopenia. Essentially, it meant that her bones were less dense than they should be, making them severely fragile. The condition was a precursor to osteoporosis, and was rare in people under the age of 30; she'd taken some time off from training to heal, but had consequentially lost a lot of skills along the way.

At least this whole thing meant that she wouldn't be the one facing Garnet's judgement; Blaze was fully aware of her self-consciousness in that regard. That had been her downfall once before already; at fifteen, her then-best friend Azure had bragged about her flat stomach, saying that nobody was picked to volunteer if they were chubby. The best way to get rid of it was apparently to stop eating, and so Blaze did so, only consuming things when it was absolutely necessary, and even then she would have very little amounts at a time. Her mom had caught it the year before, on her 17th birthday, but the damage had been done, leading her to have to take time off of training and causing the osteopenia for which she still took medication.

But now would be a bad time to dwell on the past, or on her appearance, a matter which still made her nervous. She stood in front of the mirror, observing the girl with a bright red pixie cut and remarkable grey eyes. She seemed so distant to Blaze, yet both girls knew that their reflection held secrets that most of the rest of the world wound never find out.

And that was probably for the best.

Blaze quickly put on a pink, knee-length dress, a white shrug, and white sandals. "Mom!" she called, coming out of her room. "I just got a call from Gloss. They need me in the Capitol to replace Creddi."

"What happened?" Happy asked.

"They said they'd fill me in, but a hovercraft will be picking me up shortly."

Promptly, a hovercraft landed outside of her house.

Happy pulled her daughter into a huge hug. "Just remember, honey, you are worth it, you are amazing, and you are loved. Please take the best care of yourself that you can, OK? I know it'll be hard, but you need to eat."

"If I get into the Games, you know that'll be tough."

"You'll be with the Careers. I'm pretty sure you'll have food." Happy hugged her daughter again. "I love you. Do me proud, honey."

And with that, she was whisked away, towards a sequence of events that was completely out of her control.

Hopefully, karma would be on her side.

* * *

 **Eulogies**

 **I genuinely don't know what place to put her in – maybe 55** **th** **? Or 27** **th** **or 25** **th** **, depending on where she was supposed to go? I dunno: Incredible Grant, District One, Killed by Arieyn's poison**

 **So for the record, I asked Celtic about Creddi earlier, and she was totally fine with this plotline, and also helped me with the aftermath! Thank you, Celtic for Creddi. She was such a fun tribute to write. She didn't try to be mean, but her obliviousness totally screwed over a bunch of people, and she's not done with that yet; let's just say that there is a lot more damage left to be caused by the Creddi tornado. Rest in peace, you little party ditz. I hope heaven has the best parties for you.**

 **{Family Fact: Her parents and siblings missed her greatly once they were notified of her death. Honora realized the way that not having a clue could affect somebody, and began to focus more on training and having a head on her shoulders. Though neither ended up volunteering, training became a much bigger part of their family's culture.}**

* * *

 **Well, that was eventful. It's definitely bittersweet killing off a tribute before the beginning of the Games (or the Selection, in this story), but trust me when I say that the repercussions from Creddi's actions are going to be just as impactful as her existence.**

 **But, I'm so excited to introduce y'all to Blaze! I hope I did her justice; she's a pretty loaded character to introduce in this way, and I don't think she'll get another POV before the Selection Reveal, but I think I conveyed a good amount about her, and I'm excited to play around with her in this story!**

 **So what do you think about Creddi? What impact will her actions have on other people?**

 **What do you think about Blaze? Where do you think she will end up?**

 **On a slightly unrelated note, did you guys like the eulogy format I used? If not, how should I change it?**

 **Next chapter, we'll go back to the interviews and see a few more girls before moving into the pre-launch chapter and then the Selection Reveal! We have so many more twists and turns coming, and I can't wait for you to see what I have in store!**

 **Thank you all for your support!**

 **-goldie031**


	32. Interviews, Part 2

_Pix Drexel, 17, District Three_

* * *

Pix sat anxiously on the closest chair to the stage, waiting for her turn to go on stage. Danira was out there now, and from the little that Pix could hear, she seemed to be doing pretty well.

After a moment, Niro tapped her on the shoulder. "You're good to go," Niro smiled. Pix got up, straightened out her skirt, and came onto the stage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, all the way from District Three, Pix Drexel!" Pix walked confidently onto the stage and took the seat next to Harli.

"It's so nice to meet you, Pix!" Harli.

"I'm glad to be here!"

"So I think we all want to start by knowing a little bit about your upbringing. From what we've learned, you have a very interesting worldview. How did you obtain it?"

Pix had a feeling that this question would be coming; in fact, her mentor, Jones Javan, had told her to be prepared for something like this. The plan was just to act natural, and like herself, and to explain her origins as best as she could.

"Well," Pix explained, "my parents are very skilled programmers. But they also spend a ton of time programming to make ends meet. So they didn't have a ton of time to teach me about the world. As I grew up around computers, I understood things in the context of computers. They made sense, and were much more logical than people were. Once I finally understood the world because I saw it through the eyes of computers, I began to equate things inside of it as well. So, for example, computers have hardware, which is how they look, and software, which is how they act; similarly, people have hardware, which is their hair and eye color, and their software, which is what they do and think, and how their bodies function."

Harli nodded. "Do you know how this came about? Was it a condition?"

"I don't think so. It's not like I woke up one day and said, 'All things are like computers!' or something like that, and took on the persona to stand out. That's not who I am. But I don't think it's autism either – it could be, but I was never taken to a doctor to be diagnosed with it. We didn't have the resources or time."

"That makes sense," Harli concurred. "So tell me about your parents. You said they were programmers?"

"My mom has better software, meaning she is the smarter one, with all due respect to my dad. She taught me how to program before they started teaching me in school, and so I actually ended up finishing school early and beginning to work as a programmer, which certainly helped with the financial issue. They made the conscious decision not to have a second child, so that they could provide for me as best they could, and I really appreciated that, and still do to this day."

"And do you have any close friends?"

"My best friend is named Cole. He also has great software, and I love working with him. Our third person, Rav, is new at work, but he's a great addition to the team."

"Now tell me, Pix," Harli insisted, "what do you think about Garnet?"

"I like his hardware," she blushed. The people who understood what that meant in the audience laughed as well, though it went over the heads of most of the Capitolites. "I haven't spent enough time talking to him to understand his software, but I hope he likes mine."

The buzzer went off, causing Pix's right leg to jump into a little spasm. "That's all the time we have for you. Thank you so much, Pix!"

"It was my pleasure," she smiled.

* * *

 _Pandora Eurydice Zachery, 16, District Five_

* * *

Pandora waited in her chair, microphone clipped on to her knee-length red satin dress. She was glad to be seated, as she wasn't supremely comfortable in her matching high heels; she'd walked in heels before, but none quite this high. One would think that someone who did gymnastics would be pretty good at walking in heels, but clearly that was not the case.

After a bit of waiting, Dania finished her interview, and it was finally time for Pandora to go. She carefully stood up and made her way to the stage.

"Now, from District Five, Pandora Zachery!"

Pandora slowly made her way to the stage; she knew that it was awkward that it took her so long to walk to Harli, but she tried to make the best of the situation by looking as happy and confident as she could.

"I love your dress," Harli said. "And your heels are pretty, too!"

"Well, that's all Sequin, my stylist," Pandora smiled. "I am having a bit of trouble walking in them, though."

"Well, you pull them off very well. Now, tell me about yourself! What do you do during the day in Five?"

"Well, I'm actually on our district's gymnastics team. We spend much of our time outside of school training, and it's a great way to get energy out."

"What use does gymnastics have?" asked Harli.

"Well, maybe not the most obvious things," remarked Pandora, "but one thing that it does help with is reflexes. When one is working with power generators, things can fly out of random places at any moment. Being able to react quickly to things flying at you is a good thing, lest one get hurt. But, all in all, maybe not the most useful thing from a work perspective, but lots of fun!

"You might actually have heard of one of the other girls on the team, Finch, from the 74th Games. Others of us have been Reaped, but she's the most famous, because she was from Katniss's Games."

"Really? Finch did gymnastics?"

"How do you think she was so agile."

Harli smiled. "That makes so much sense. Now, being from Five, do your parents work in a plant?"

"My mom does," Pandora said. "She actually runs the biggest plant in Five, which is a ton of work. My dad, on the other hand, makes woodcarvings and sells them at the market. We're lucky that my mom makes so much that he can do what he loves. Then there are my three sisters, Elodie, Siena, and Andromeda."

"Do they also do gymnastics?"

"Elodie, the oldest, did, but she's on a different level than I am. Siena enjoys working with Mom, and Andromeda spends her time with Dad in the woodshop. We're all very close, too; Elodie is 18 and Siena is 17. We're what you call Irish triplets."

"That's so fun! Were you close with them when you were growing up?"

"Yeah, we're a pretty tight-knit family. I mean, my token is a picture of our family."

"That's so sweet! Now, the most important question: What do you think of Garnet?"

"He's nice. He'd be a good husband. I want the time to get to know him better," she blushed, "especially because it would mean that Andromeda and Siena would be safe."

The buzzer rang again. "I wish we could spend more time with you, but best of luck to you, Pandora!"

* * *

 _Pacifica Corwin, 17, District Four_

* * *

Pacifica waited nervously backstage, anxious to get out and show her stuff. She had a plan; hopefully it would work out the way she'd intended.

The dressing room was pretty much empty. There were only four girls left backstage: Pacifica, Kylis, Muire, and Nanami. They were standing around awkwardly, not really wanting to talk to each other, just waiting for their interviews with Harli.

Finally, it was time for Pacifica to go out. She stood up, straightened out her teal dress's mermaid bottom, and joined Harli on stage.

"Wow, Pacifica! You're stunning in that dress!"

"Thank you, Harli," she replied curtly.

"And you seem to have done a very good job in these Games. You scored a nine in training! How did you do that?"

"I've got the skills."

"So why didn't you volunteer? Most people who do that well are volunteers."

"I needed another year of training to really be ready; I was talking with my trainer and we decided that I had a shot against Calytrix, who is right in front of me in the Academy, if I really try hard next year. But this stupid Quell got in the way of that."

Harli knew she'd have to get to Garnet eventually, but it seemed that that was a sore subject for Pacifica, so she decided to avoid it for as long as she could. "Let's start by talking about your family. Do you have any siblings?"

"A little brother, Prow. He's determined to train to go into the Games, but he's not so good."

"What about your parents?"

"Dad takes us out onto the water sometimes, which is really fun. Mom, on the other hand, is the stricter one who makes the rules."

Harli wasn't getting much more out of Pacifica. "What do you do during the day?"

"I like to walk on the beach and feel the ocean. And flirt with guys, but that's severely limited now that I'm stuck with Garnet."

Harli took a deep breath. The can of worms was begging to be opened. She had been instructed by Portia and Ruby to ask every tribute what they thought of Garnet, because it made good television, and all the Capitol citizens wanted to know the answer. And she knew she couldn't disobey that order, so she hoped that she wouldn't get punished for what Pacifica said.

"Now, you know this Quell twist is special. What do you think of Garnet?"

Pacifica groaned. "I very much dislike him."

The interviewer couldn't look at the President's box. "But isn't he so cute? And such a great guy!"

"I just despise the twist! I wouldn't be in this position if this twist was extant – it would be Thyra! And I could have been training more! Plus, the fact that this twist had to exist in the first place is really dumb. I guess Garnet's just a wuss, a mama's boy who can't do anything by himself. Men who get bossed around by their mothers are absolutely the worst, and clearly the President will have her hand in this. It's just a dumb way to pick a wife."

Harli was wrong about Narcissa's interview. She had never been gladder to be done with an interview in her whole life.

* * *

Garnet was seething, so much so that he couldn't even focus on the last three interviews. He wasn't too arrogant, but he did have a natural-born interest in his image, being the President's son. And Pacifica did not exactly do a good job of helping that image.

As the interviews concluded, his cousin Violet took him back to his suite. He definitely thought it was odd that his mother hadn't come back to the suite, but also that Amethyst and Portia Andeers were suspiciously missing. But right now, he had bigger fish to fry.

"Remember that I need the list of Selected girls by midnight, OK?" Violet instructed. "Good luck making final decisions."

Garnet nodded. "Will do. I'll send it via cylinder to you tonight."

From inside his desk, he took the lists he'd made before. He was fairly satisfied with his decisions but needed to find a way to punish Pacifica. For most people, insulting him would mean not picking them, meaning they'd be going into the Games, but Pacifica didn't deserve that treatment because then he'd be giving her exactly what she wanted. She'd been relatively courteous during their private interview; Pacifica had made it clear at the time that she had no interest in him and that she wanted to go into the Games. Garnet had obliged, not putting her on his list.

Suddenly, an idea came into his mind. He could do exactly the opposite of what she wanted: pick her for the Selection. It would look a bit odd, sure, but he would certainly be making his point. Not only that, he had the power to take away her chance to ever compete in the Games by keeping her until Four picked its next group of volunteers.

That would certainly do it.

But that meant he needed to take someone out of the Selection. Who would he be willing to do without?

He read through the list. He read it again. He watched the replays of each of the interviews of the 26 girls he'd Selected and thought about one person who he could definitely do without, not even thinking about what not picking them meant. And he came to a decision just minutes before midnight.

Slowly and carefully, but deliberately, he crossed Incredible Grant's name off of the list.

* * *

 **Are the plot twists over yet, goldie? NOPE. WE ARE NOT DONE WITH THE TWISTS!**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! We now know one Selected girl, and one going into the Games! You can definitely see the way that the actions of some of the tributes are screwing over other tributes; if y'all want, I can start a list of times tributes have been indirectly screwed over by other tributes on my profile. It'll be pretty fun by the end of the story.**

 **What did you think of these interviews? Does Pix make more sense now? Does Pandora have a shot? Did Garnet make the right call with how he punished Pacifica? Did he have to punish her at all?**

 **Next up, we move on to the launch. And there's still so much more to come!**

 **Thanks for all of your incredible reviews and support!**

 **-goldie031**


	33. The Morning Of

_Erin Mochurn-Fuego, 12, District Five_

* * *

Erin couldn't sleep.

Thoughts of the next day turned over in her mind. In just twenty-four hours, she could be lying dead on the floor of the Arena.

And that was scary.

She checked her clock; it read 2 AM. Erin groaned. She couldn't remember the last time she was up that late!

As the night progressed, so did her thoughts. They moved from the future to the past, and the way she was brought up. Eventually, they came to rest around Tyler, her husband.

Her despised husband.

The more she tried to avoid thinking about him, the harder it was. As she thought about the three or so years they'd spent together, she came to an interesting realization: maybe he wasn't as bad as she thought.

See, for years, Erin had done everything she could to avoid being with her husband. She'd been bossy and mean to him, ordering him around and not showing him any affection. Now, granted, she had never wanted to be married at age 9. But, she realized, maybe bossing him around wasn't the way to do things. After all, he wasn't mean to her. He didn't hurt her like Iris's husband, and he wasn't mean to her at all. In fact, he was anything but. He was patient and kind, letting her get to know him at her pace, and always asking permission before doing things with her. He allowed her to stay in school, and to do the things she liked to do afterwards.

And that was more than she could say about her parents, who forced her into things the way they wanted her to be. Their ideology had been forced on her since she was little; certainly, Erin's time with Millicent and Douria from Twelve, who were certainly poorer than she, had proven to her that listening to her father in that regard was not right. And her mom and dad weren't nearly as patient and flexible with her as Tyler was; if he had been her father, there's no way he would have forced her into a marriage.

A thought creeped into her mind: maybe she was the person who was to blame in the situation. Erin suddenly recognized that, if he was so much more respectful than she thought, maybe she was meaner to him than she should be. She felt bad about forcing him to do everything and pushing him around.

But the worst part was that she hadn't come to that realization sooner.

Because now, there was no way to make it up to him.

* * *

 _Maddison Harper,_ _13, District Eleven_

* * *

"Good morning, Maddison. Happy birthday!" Rain exclaimed, coming into her sister's room.

Maddi groggily opened her eyes. With all the craziness relating to the Games, she'd totally forgotten that her birthday was even a thing, much less that it was so soon. And she was, admittedly, quite happy that she would get to experience one more birthday before her life either changed forever or, more likely, ended.

She supposed it was fitting, though, that she was turning thirteen. Maddison had taken a class in ancient religion at home, and she'd learned that thirteen was a fairly significant age, so she was glad to have reached it.

"Come on, Maddi. Let's go have all the pancakes we want for breakfast!" Rain exclaimed. Maddi got out of bed to pick out an outfit, but found one already laid out for her: a dark brown t-shirt, black cargo pants, and black sneakers.

"This looks like an arena outfit," Maddi pointed out, noticing that Rain was wearing an identical outfit.

"The escort said that everyone has a standard outfit for transport this year," Rain explained. Maddi quickly got dressed and joined her sister in the common area. When she got there, she found a plate of seven chocolate chip pancakes waiting for her, fourteen candles stuck in them. "It's a bit early for cake," Rain remarked, before leading the other tributes, the mentors, and the escorts in a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday.

"All right," said Akatsuki, Eleven's primary escort. "I hate to burst your bubbles, but I have some important information to go over.

"The mentors, Dya, and I have to go to the Games Headquarters, to begin working with your sponsors and doing all of the last-minute preparations for launch. Launch is going to be happening at night this year, not during the day, as I'm sure you could have figured out. All of this means that the Peacekeepers are the ones who will be getting you guys from your rooms to send you into the Arena, because the stylists also have other stuff to do during the day. Please listen to the Peacekeepers because everything is on such a tight schedule today.

"For those of you who are Selected, Dya will be with you, because she is the secondary escort. She'll join you wherever you end up after the Bloodbath concludes tonight. She will likely not be in charge of dealing with sponsors, because we don't know how sponsors are going to be working, but as all of the mentors will be focused on the Games, this way you'll have a familiar face. If you are split up, I'll be focused on the Games-bound tributes as well. Any questions?" Nobody said anything. "All right. Good luck, everyone." And with that, the mentors and escorts left.

The four girls were silent for a moment. "Isn't this a bad idea?" remarked Narcissa. "You know, leaving a bunch of tributes alone on the floor?"

Rain went over to check the elevators. "These aren't working. I'm guessing they've locked the stairwells too. That means we're stuck."

Narcissa groaned and stormed off to her room.

Maddi and Rain sat down on the couch, and the younger girl put her head in her older sister's lap. "What do you think will happen today?" Maddi asked.

"I don't know," Rain replied. "I wish I did."

"I hope we can stay together."

"But wouldn't it be better if Garnet picked you? I have a better shot of winning the Games. If we both go in, only one of us can come out."

"Maybe he'll pick both of us, thought. That would be the best birthday present ever."

* * *

 _Melvina Crusoe, 17, District Nine_

* * *

"So, I don't think you ever told me why you volunteered, Cayman," said Melvina, taking a piece of chicken from the buffet for lunch.

"It was to help my family," Cayman replied. "You know, if I got picked, it would save my siblings, Sirene and Noah. They're only nine, and it would be so great for them to grow up without that fear."

"I don't believe you," Melvina immediately responded.

"Why not?"

"Because there's too much of a risk involved there. You knew that there was only a fifty/fifty chance or so that you'd get picked. Clearly, there has to be some sort of other option here, something you're also trying to get away from."

"Why do I have to tell you?"

"Have you told anyone?"

"Garnet."

"So why not me? Plus, if it has to do with relationships, I've run the gambit."

"Fine," sighed Cayman. "So, on my fifteenth birthday, which was over a year and a half ago, I met this guy, Max. And I really liked Max. We started dating, and it was going so well. I was probably the happiest I've ever been. But then, on our first anniversary, he started to become abusive. He began to beat me and hurt me. And then, a few weeks before Reaping day, he took a knife to me."

"Really?" Melvina was shocked. In all of her failed relationships, it had never gotten that far.

"Yeah." Melvina observed suddenly that Cayman's entire demeanor had become much darker. "I broke up with him the next day, but the whole affair still haunted me; our town is so small that it's hard to shake rumors and those kinds of things. I needed to get out, to get away and to figure myself out, and to see myself not as Max's girlfriend or Max's ex."

"I appreciate that," Melvina remarked, taking another bite out of the chicken. "I feel kind of the same way, like this could be how I find out what I actually feel about love."

Suddenly, the girls heard a little cough from behind them. They saw Dania, standing over Kylis, who was smoking a cigarette on the couch. "This is gonna be fun," Melvina smirked. "Let's watch!"

"Kylis?" she said, very quietly.

"Yes, Dania?"

"I think I overreacted."

Kylis turned around to face the other girl. "Uh-huh."

"You were just trying to do what's best for me. I just got nervous because of all the stress we're under in this situation. I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," said Kylis, giving her girlfriend a hug. "Would you feel better if we got back together?"

"I don't know. At this point, there's nothing much else we can do," Dania muttered, cuddling up on the couch next to Kylis. "But do you understand why it hurt me when we broke up? Even if you'd promised to come back to me, which you did, if we'd been split up, that would have allowed you to have another girlfriend."

"Of course I wouldn't have," Kylis said. "I love you too much."

Melvina smiled dreamily. She knew that the Dania/Kylis relationship wasn't perfect, but something about it made her smile anyway. Maybe it was the good girl/bad girl cliché, like the one she was thinking of putting in her novel. She turned to Cayman. "Wasn't that so cute?"

"Yeah," Cayman shrugged.

"I wish that I could have a relationship like that."

"Maybe Garnet's the one."

* * *

 _Honey Voltas, 16, District Three_

* * *

Honey and Drew were alone in the common room of the District Three floor. Mu, the quiet person that she was naturally, was in her room, processing what was happening, and Pix was focusing in her room on some sort of complex programming thing that even Honey, the programmer of the set of twins, didn't understand. But the twins wanted to spend as much time together as they could, because they knew that it could be cut very short, very soon.

"Hey, Honey?" Drew said, looking cautiously around the room.

"Yes, Drew?" Honey looked up from the programming book she was reading.

"Can we switch places for a bit?"

Honey closed the book and looked at her brother; unlike her, he was always ready to take risks. "You know that Byte told us not to do that!"

"Come on," groaned Drew. "Nobody is here! I want one more time in the wig before I can't wear it ever again. I've gone through a lot with that wig – it's such a big part of my life, of our lives. I want one last time with that thing."

"But what if someone comes in and we don't have time to change back? After all, we're both wearing the same outfit!" Honey motioned to the yellow shirt and cargo pants she was wearing that exactly matched her brother's. "And what if Garnet splits us up?"

"We'll be fine. Garnet knows how close we are, he won't split us up!" lied Drew. "Come on!"

Drew spent a significant amount of the next few minutes nagging to get one more shot in the wig. He did have a logical reason for it, though. Drew recognized that there was a good chance they would be split up; he was most likely going into the Games, as Garnet seemed to be straight, because the Quell twist revolved around girls, and there was a good shot that Honey would be going into the Selection. He wanted to get her out of the wig to give her a bit more confidence in herself and her abilities before they switched back for good.

Honey sighed. "Fine," she huffed. "But this was your idea, and it'll be your fault." To a certain degree, Honey also wanted to spend a bit more time posing as Drew. It did give her a lot more confidence. And so, she obliged. Carefully, she removed the wig that denoted who was Honey and gave it to her brother.

Instantly, she felt her self-confidence grow. There was something about taking off the wig with the intention of being Drew that made her feel so much better about herself and what she was capable of. She knew she needed to find a way to bring that self-confidence to when she was dressed as Honey, especially if they ended up being separated, but for now, she was content with it as it was.

Unfortunately, taking off a girl's wig didn't stop other things related to being a girl from existing. Honey was very attentive to the feeling of her period starting, and she started very heavy; if she didn't act immediately, her clothing would be soaked. "I'll be right back, Drew. Don't move!" she commanded.

Honey ran back to her room and quickly put in a super tampon. She hoped that her stylist would be able to give her a new one before launch, because it would be soaked through by then.

Once she was done, she checked her pants for blood; though they were back and it theoretically wouldn't show, she wanted to make super sure. Finally, after she deemed herself presentable, she returned to the common room. And what she saw – rather, what she didn't see, surprised her.

A Peacekeeper was standing in the middle of the floor. And Drew, and the wig, were nowhere to be found.

* * *

 _Blaze Donohue, 18, District One, Games*_

* * *

Blaze had barely had a chance to catch her breath.

She had gotten into the Capitol late the night before, and had been reintroduced to the other District One tributes; the presence of Lavender had surprised her, though, as she totally was unaware of the existence of the backup tributes. (Which, admittedly, was the point of the backup tributes.) She had been woken up early in the morning and gotten into a training uniform; the Gamemakers had granted her two hours in the gym before her evaluation. She essentially had two hours to cram some lost skills; she knew she wasn't quite as good as many of the other Careers, but her goal was to get around Carissa's score of 8, to match her with the other Careers. She'd managed to retain a lot of hand-to-hand skills, which was good for her, and a bit of swords skills, and she hoped to work with someone else later on to work on those sword skills; after all, everyone in the Pack would benefit from having a stronger Pack.

Afterwards, she'd been whisked back up to her floor, where she was changed into a fairly simple, knee-length, navy dress, and then brought back down to the training room, where a makeshift room had been set up. She was told that the other backup tributes had been interviewed on the roof, and as she was also being considered a backup tribute, they wanted to do the same thing; however, hovercrafts were already launching from the roof, so they'd gone to the backup plan of putting the makeshift interview room in the training room. Blaze had a good time talking to Harli, trying to convey herself as a bit quirky, but nice and sweet; she didn't know exactly who would be seeing it, but she definitely wanted to be able to get sponsors.

Finally, everything was done, and she was back on her district's floor. She changed into a white t-shirt and black cargo pants that had been laid out for her on her bed, and went out into the common room to just relax.

"You good, Blaze?" Delilah asked.

"Yep. Just worn out. It's been a long and tiring day. Would you mind grabbing me a glass of milk?"

"Sure!" Delilah carefully poured her comrade a cup of skim milk, and brought it over to Blaze. "Trust me, there's no poison in here."

"Thanks," Blaze scoffed.

Not two seconds after Blaze had drank the milk, a pair of Peacekeepers came onto the floor. "OK, District One. It is now time to prepare you for launch. We need to stagger you a bit, so I need Lavender and Blaze first. Everyone else, please be ready to go so that we can stay on schedule."

Blaze groaned. She had just sat down, and she needed to rest! But, she knew the risks of disobeying a Peacekeeper, and so got up and followed the large and tall man; the shorter woman followed behind. He took out a key card and put it into the scanner on the elevator button; the elevator opened immediately, and he escorted the two girls onto the roof, where there were at least ten hovercrafts waiting to transport tributes. "I'm going to take Blaze. Lavender, please follow Peacekeeper Li." The two girls exchanged good-luck looks, and then split to opposite sides of the roof.

Blaze followed the man as he brought her up to a hovercraft. She stepped onto the ladder and was immediately frozen by its current as it brought her up. Once she was all the way in, she waited for the woman to come with her tracker, but she didn't come with a needle; instead, she came with a thick white bracelet that she carefully fastened onto Blaze's wrist. "We're trying something new this year," the woman explained. "The hope is that nobody finds a way to take them off," she admitted, as she attached the bracelet to itself on Blaze's wrist.

"Thank you," Blaze said, before taking a seat. She saw that some food had been laid out for her, so she had a bit of a snack. She also noticed that, from the moment she took off, the windows were black; as the hovercraft twisted and turned, she had zero sense of where she was or what she was near.

Finally, she felt the hovercraft land; another pair of Peacekeepers came in and led her through the catacombs beneath the arena to a room labeled with her name. When she got there, she found a woman waiting for her. "My name is Aemiliana," she said, holding out her hand for Blaze to shake, "but you can call me Ana. I was Creddi's stylist, and due to her death, I've become yours. I designed your dress for your interviews this morning before doing another job, and then I came down here! Let me help get you into the arena outfit. We stylists were told to call it an arena outfit for everybody, because we don't even know whether or not Garnet picked you. Anyway, if this is an arena outfit, it's the most unusual one that I've ever seen, and I've been styling for quite a long time. Take a seat for a second while I get it ready."

Blaze took a seat on a chair in the room as Ana opened up a garment bag. In it was a knee-length, sleeveless white dress made out of chiffon, with layers of tulle added to give the skirt some dimension. At the bottom of the bag was a pair of white skate shoes to match the dress. "This doesn't look like something to fight in," Blaze remarked.

"My guess is that, if you do go into the Games, other clothing will be provided. But at least you're wearing sneakers and not heels, and the dress is knee-length, which is good. They also gave you these." Ana handed Blaze a pair of tan spandex shorts. "This is so your legs don't chafe. They're useful. Now, let me get a look at you. I want to get some ideas for other dresses!"

* * *

 _Elizah Klepper, 17, District Seven_

* * *

To say that her outfit was not what she expected would be an understatement.

Elizah found herself in a knee-length, sleeveless, forest green dress made out of chiffon and tulle. At the bottom of the bag was a pair matching skate shoes. She liked the dress – emerald green was her favorite color, and forest green was close – though she preferred to wear more neutral colors. But, while she enjoyed wearing dressy clothes, this was not exactly the time for dressing up.

After all, she was about to go fight to the death.

"Do you have your token?" asked her stylist, Walter.

Elizah held up the piece of wood she'd gotten on Reaping day. "My little sister made this for me."

"Very nice. You have no pocket," noticed Walter, her stylist, "so you can either be very careful when you launch or put it in your bra." Elizah nodded. She didn't want to end up dying like that legendary girl from Eight a while back.

It felt like hours passed. Finally, a cheery female voice notified her that it was time to get in the tube. "It has been a pleasure styling you," Walter said. "I hope I get the opportunity to do so again in the next few weeks." He gave her a warm hug before she stepped onto the metal plate.

Elizah waited a moment as a glass cylinder descended around her. The plate pushed her up; she expected to launch up into light, but instead, she stopped in complete darkness. She reached out and felt the walls; it was hard, and from what she gathered, soundproof. But she could sort of kind of maybe make out the sound of a cheering crowd.

And that was a very good sign.

* * *

 ***Remember, we know she's going into the Games thanks to Creddi; she doesn't.**

 **Another note: skate shoes are like Converse or Vans. I wanted to make it more generic because the specific brand of shoe probably doesn't exist in this universe.**

* * *

 **So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Admittedly, this was to a certain degree meant to fill in some last little pieces of backstory, especially with Erin and Cayman, but I hope you got a better picture of all of the characters and enjoyed it nonetheless.**

 **We've made it! Next chapter is the Selection reveal! As such, I wanted to go over some last details with you guys about how I picked.**

 **First of all, I didn't put someone into the Games or the Selection based on who their submitter was. This means a few things. It means that where your tribute ends up isn't based on whether or not you've been reviewing; your involvement with the story can, however, relate to how far your character goes on either side. It also means that I didn't at all look at who submitted which tribute when I placed them. Some of you will find that all of your tributes went to the same place, and some of you will have them split up. All of the "who went where" thing is really based on what works best for me in terms of the plot and in terms of Garnet's preferences.**

 **I know you're all waiting for the next chapter, so I'll refrain from a first author's note there. I can't wait to see you then!**

 **Thank you all for your awesome support!**

 **-goldie031**


	34. The Selection Reveal

The stage was buzzing as everyone got ready for the Selection reveal. Garnet sat on a white chair, in his trademark black suit with red bowtie and cummerbund, Harli and Dorian on matching chairs to his right; the trio was on a platform stage right of the main stage, which held twenty-six soundproof black boxes. Portia Andeers had explained to Garnet that, to get the best television, they wanted to get each tribute's full reaction to learning that they and their families were safe, and so, they'd be dropping the boxes down one by one. She'd also told him that her mother wouldn't, in fact, be there; she would be watching from a green room, allowing her son to have the moment all to his own.

"Is there a specific order in which we'll be revealing the girls?" Garnet asked.

"Not really," Portia said, speaking over the buzz of the assembled Capitol masses. "Violet randomized your list, and we'll reveal them in that order. Now, Harli and Dorian will announce the names; you're just kinda here for show. Smile and look nice; you're good at that. At the end of the reveal, we were gonna have the girls watch the Bloodbath, but then the pre-Bloodbath stuff got way too long with the interviews and chatter and such, which will focus on Harli and Doria, and so that isn't gonna work. So, once Harli says, 'We'll be right back,' the girls will be whisked away by Violet. Please don't interact with them; you'll have more time to do so tomorrow and the next day, but we need to let them decompress tonight." Garnet opened his mouth to ask another question, but Portia was already gone.

After a bit of waiting, during which Garnet got his mic on, Portia got the stage managers together for a quick huddle. Then, they broke apart and split up, and after a ridiculous combination of arm and leg gestures, they were finally ready to begin. Portia's voice piped through the speakers: "And rolling in three, two…" An arm motion from Niro indicated to Harli that it was time to start.

"Ladies and gentlemen," announced Harli, "welcome to the reveal of the twenty-six girls who will be competing for Garnet's love, as well as the beginnings of the One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Hunger Games! As usual, I am Harli Saleman."

"And I'm Dorian Muir. We are here with Garnet Emerald, who will be with us all night as we reveal his choices and then watch the Games kick off. How are you feeling today, Garnet?"

"Admittedly," Garnet said, "a bit nervous, yet excited. This is the first stage of the rest of my life! I just hope I made good choices."

"I'm sure you did. Let's get started!" Harli proclaimed as the crowd cheered.

"Now, the order in which the girls will be revealed has been randomized, so we don't know how Garnet put this list together. But, I'm sure excited to meet these ladies!

"Up first," began Dorian, "from District One. The blonde bombshell with a caring side. Please welcome Delilah Ainsley!"

The box furthest stage-left fell, then magically turned into a chair, revealing Delilah to the crowd, in her assigned white dress and fiddling with the thick bracelet on her wrist. Relief visibly washed over her; now, Jet was safe, and so, thankfully, was she. A crew member motioned (off-camera) to the chair; Delilah glanced at it, unsure how it got there, but took a seat, noticing how much her legs were shaking.

"Our next girl comes all the way from District Five. Please welcome the charming Khara Imperium!"

The second box fell, revealing Khara, dressed in lime green, to the audience. Shock washed over her, then relief, and finally confusion and curiosity. She took a seat in the chair next to Delilah, who smiled at the girl slightly younger than she.

"Now," Harli said, "from District Ten, the sweet adopted daughter of a butcher, Lennox Silverson-Smith!"

Lennox, clad in light pink, looked a bit awkward with all of the attention on her. The shock on her face was clear and palpable; Khara had to stand up to help guide her into the chair. She also looked at the two girls to the left and their dresses; clearly, each was wearing the same dress, just in her district color.

"And from District Two, everyone's favorite girl next door, Janari Lovarre!"

A range of emotions washed over Janari; everything from happiness to apprehensiveness to fear showed on her face in the same instant. She took her seat next to Lennox, and began chatting politely with the other girl, all while watching the other 22 boxes to see who they contained.

"Next up," Dorian took over, "is the brave soul from District Seven, Nadina Spencer!" As the boxes fell around her, Nadina looked calmly pleased; finally, she'd have the opportunity to become rich and make life better for her family who, more importantly, were now safe.

"And from District Nine, Cayman Rye!" Once the shock subsided, a huge grin came onto Cayman's face. She was excited to see what would happen and to try things out; though she was, admittedly, a bit apprehensive of Garnet, this was certainly a way out of the Max situation, and an opportunity to figure herself out.

When Harli read the next name from the teleprompter, her eyebrows went up. "Next up is one of the highest-scoring tributes in this year's Games. Also from District Two, Bellona Terminus!"

Bellona had practiced her reaction to finding out that she'd been selected. As the box fell, she acted calmly mad, not wanting to seem overly angry, but not wanting to seem that she'd intentionally been picked. But on the inside, she was relieved; this was the chance she had to shake what seemed to be her fate from birth.

"And next up, another girl from District Five, our resident gymnast Pandora Zachery!" The girl glowed with happiness as the box fell from around her. Not only was she safe, but so were Siena and Andromeda, and that made her even more elated. She glanced to Delilah and made a switching motion with her hands; the other girl nodded, and the two quickly swapped seats, allowing Pandora to chat with Khara for the rest of the reveal.

"Our ninth candidate for Garnet's love also comes from District Four," Dorian said. "Please welcome our aspiring trainer, Bonnie Clearwater!" For some reason, Bonnie actually looked a little bit upset when her name was called. It was almost as if, despite not being as skilled as the other Careers, she wanted to go into the Games.

"It specifically says to announce these two together," Dorian remarked, regarding the teleprompter. "From District Eleven, Rain Peterson and Maddison Harper!"

As the two boxes fell, and the crowd (and the other girls) let out a collective aww, Maddison leapt into her sister's arms, despite being taller than her. "This is the best birthday present ever!" she exclaimed, burying her head in her sister's shoulder. Rain, struggling to bear Maddi's weight, sat down in her chair, tears glistening in her eyes as she cradled the sister she'd tried so hard to protect. Now, she didn't have to try so hard anymore.

"That was so cute!" Harli squealed, though clearly ready to keep the broadcast moving; they were on a super tight schedule with the Bloodbath launch coming up. "Our next contender is also from District Nine. Ladies and gentlemen, everyone's favorite hopeless romantic, Melvina Crusoe!"

As the box fell, Melvina was so happy that she started to cry tears of joy. She knew that Garnet was the one; after all, she was already starting to fall in love with him. And this would definitely be different from the four dozen or so prior relationships she'd had.

"Now, from District Twelve, sweet little Douria Hovello!" Douria looked thrilled as she registered the situation. She was safe from the Games, safe from danger, and she'd never been happier.

"And also from Twelve," continued Harli, "our favorite well-meaning gossip Brietta Westwood!" Brietta too took a moment to register the situation, but soon became visibly grateful. She was safe forever, and she knew she'd be the talk of the town if she came back. She hoped that being almost fifteen would help her – she wasn't much younger than Khara, after all – rather than hurt her chances at Garnet's heart.

Dorian took over as the interviewers returned to switching off after every two girls. "Now, also from District Seven, the gentle soul of Elizah Klepper!" Elizah looked relieved, but then blushed, flattered that Garnet saw something in her.

"Now, from District Six, please welcome Danira Muntaner!" Danira too looked quite happy as she realized what was going on, which quickly morphed to excitement. She had the chance to live in the Capitol, and Garnet was quite handsome; at least she would get to go home to her grandma if things didn't go that well.

"Next," Harli added, "from District Eight, please welcome the very career-driven Singer Brocade!" As usual, Singer was fairly reserved, but she exuded confidence, the confidence that Garnet had made the right choice.

"And, also from District Twelve, the youngest tribute in this year's Games, tiny Brooklyn Cherry!" Brooklyn looked completely shocked; she couldn't really register the situation, but was pretty sure that this was a good thing. And that was good as far as she was concerned.

"Now," Dorian said, "let's welcome another little girl, from District Five, please welcome Erin Mochurn-Fuego!" Erin too looked quite confused. She'd only just come to terms with Tyler, now there was the chance of having someone else sweep her out of his arms? She wasn't quite sure what she thought, but was certainly glad not to be going into the Games.

"And, also from District Five, the remarkable daughter of a Victor, Phoebe Nightingale!" Phoebe had never been happier; she was shocked, completely in disbelief, but thrilled that she had a shot at Garnet and that she wasn't going to die; more importantly, she was excited that Garnet had overlooked her appearance and focused on who she was.

"Well, Dorian, that means that everyone from District Five is safe! And so is everyone from District Twelve, it seems; please welcome little Millicent Jones!"

Millicent too had mixed emotions; on one hand, she was happy to not be going into the Games, but on the other hand, she didn't want to marry someone so many years older than she.

Harli continued, "and, also from Four, another very strong tribute. Please give a warm welcome to Thyra Sereno!"

Thyra was shocked, and a little tiny bit disappointed; though she didn't want to die, she had spent so much time training for the Games that it was quite weird for her to not to be going into them. But, she was also quite curious. What did Garnet see in her? She couldn't wait to find out.

"Now," Dorian said, "also from District Seven, please welcome everyone's favorite debater and mayor's daughter, Euodia Grove!" Euodia was shocked; she was convinced that, if the Reaping was rigged, which it was, that she would have gone into the Games. But somehow, she hadn't. And she hoped that things would still go OK from here on out.

"And one more from District Four, Pacifica Corwin!"

Pacifica was mad. Angry. Furious. She had done everything to try to not get picked, and it had blown up in her face. Unlike the other girls, who had taken their seats nicely, she stormed off the stage in a frenzy. Her mind immediately started racing; how could she convince Garnet to send her home so she could train for the next year? She needed a plan, and fast.

"Two more," Harli remarked. "From District Nine, please welcome Dania Kesten!"

First, Dania was shocked. Then, she was happy; after all, she was safe! But then, as she scanned the twenty-four girls sitting to her left, her heart bled a little. So much of her wanted to be with Kylis; though it was unlikely, she hoped her girlfriend was safe too. She watched the box to her right eagerly, hoping to recognize the figure it contained.

"And finally, from District Three, Honey Voltas!"

Dania's heart dropped.

Garnet watched carefully as the last box fell; as it was the closest to him, he could easily make out Honey's features, and was happy to see her smiling widely.

But then, he saw it.

A chip in Honey's front tooth.

In his interview with Drew, the tribute had been very clear that there was one reliable way to tell him apart from his twin; he had a chipped front tooth, and Honey didn't.

So unless things had gotten very weird during the pre-Games process, somehow he had the wrong Voltas twin.

* * *

 _Selected Girls by District_

 _District One: Delilah Ainsley_

 _District Two: Janari Lovarre, Bellona Terminus_

 _District Three: Honey Voltas?_

 _District Four: Bonnie Clearwater, Pacifica Corwin, Thyra Sereno_

 _District Five: Khara Imperium, Erin Mochurn-Fuego, Phoebe Nightingale, Pandora Zachery_

 _District Six: Danira Muntaner_

 _District Seven: Euodia Grove, Elizah Muller, Nadina Spencer_

 _District Eight: Singer Brocade_

 _District Nine: Melvina Crusoe, Dania Kesten, Cayman Rye_

 _District Ten: Lennox Silverson-Smith_

 _District Eleven: Maddison Harper, Rain Peterson_

 _District Twelve: Brooklyn Cherry, Douria Hovello, Millicent Jones, Brietta Westwood_

* * *

 ** _Updated Alliances:_**

 _Careers : Arieyn, Blaze, Ravi, Lavender (D1); Carissa, Vixyn (D2); Nanami (D4)_

 _- Upper Pack: Arieyn, Ravi (D1), Vixyn (D2)_

 _- Lower Pack: Lavender, Blaze (D1), Carissa (D2), Nanami (D4)_

 _- The Final Two Deal: Lavender (D1) and Carissa (D2)_

 _Gender-Benders : Drew (?), Muire, Pix (D3); Amaryllis (D11)_

 _The Brave Ones : Ferrari (D6) (uh-oh)_

 _The Quiet Ones : Elysia (D6) and Weave (D8)_

 _Silver and the Littles : Silver (D8) (uh-oh)_

 _District Ten : Eloise, Cheyenne, Peach_

 _Longing for Trust : Narcissa (D11) (uh-oh)_

 _Loners : Drenaline (D6), Freida (D7), Kylis (D9), Tistera (D10), Nyx (D12)_

* * *

 **Farewells**

 **Varinia Jonet, Jemimah Puddle, Lahainah Pele, and Lilith Russe; Capitol; Not Selected by Garnet**

 **For my first time writing Capitol girls, this was such a blast. All four of them were so different and eccentric in different ways, but overall so much fun to write! This is nothing against any of them; from the beginning, I knew that Garnet wasn't going to pick any of the Capitol girls, because he doesn't know about the backup tributes and he wanted to save as many district girls as possible. Thank you, tracelynn, LCS, Pi, and Xechasate for these four, respectively; I really had fun with them. And who knows? We might see them again.**

 **Where Are They Now?**

 **-Lilith felt hurt when Garnet didn't pick her, because she knew they were already close, though he understood his reasoning.**

 **-Lahainah would eventually be able to attain the stylist status, staying involved with the Selection girls and their stylists as an intern of sorts.**

 **-Jemimah didn't do much; she just kind of stayed with the Capitol lifestyle, and continued her obsession with Fragonard's The Swing.**

 **-Varinia would go on to sponsor Drew in the Games, and became an activist for certain changes in the Hunger Games that would happen later on.}**

* * *

 **So there it is! Our 26 Selection ladies! I hope some of you guys are happy, whether or not you saw it coming. As I said in the farewell, I was never going to pick any of the Capitol girls, so that's been in the works for a while, which means that Lavender and Nyx are both going into the Games! How will that play out? You'll have to wait and see!**

 **Who did you expect to be selected, and how did that compare to what happened? Who did least expect to be selected? What is happening with Honey and Drew? Did this chapter seem choppy? Because it seemed a bit choppy to me.**

 **I'll see you next chapter, when we see the aftermath of Garnet's picks, and then we'll go into the Games! Thank you all for your support.**

 **-goldie031**


	35. The Aftermath

As soon as the broadcast went to commercial, the girls were shepherded off stage left as Garnet was led the other way; the stage was being transformed for the Pre-Games broadcast, and so he was no longer needed. Immediately, he ran to find his mother in the President's box. His mind was racing; how could he fix the problem Honey and Drew caused?

"Mom!" yelled Garnet, as he burst through the door. "We have a problem!"

"What's wrong, honey?" Ruby said nervously, turning to face her son. "Did someone get mixed up from your list? I was afraid of that."

"More or less, yes. I had informed a Peacekeeper that Honey and Drew Voltas had a penchant for switching places, and told them to be especially careful when taking them out for launch; I told that Peacekeeper that Drew had a chipped tooth, and that was the most foolproof way to tell them apart. Somehow, that message was forgotten, and nobody made sure that the right twin went to the right place."

"Doesn't Honey have long hair, as opposed to a pixie cut?"

"It's a wig," Garnet explained, "but that's beside the point. We need to rectify this mistake."

"Which Peacekeeper did you tell?"

"It was a strong guy with tan skin, probably from Two. I don't know. So many of the Peacekeepers look the same." That was a complete lie. Garnet hadn't told anything to any Peacekeeper, because Drew had assured him that they wouldn't switch places again. But he could deal with penalizing Drew, if there was reason to punish them, later, without his mother knowing; right now, he had to save Honey, especially because he had picked her in the first place. If this was really his choice, his mother would help him out. Plus, telling his mom that the Peacekeeper was a strong, tan guy from Two was intentionally vague; 90 percent of the male Peacekeepers in the Capitol were strong, tan guys from Two, and those were the only male Peacekeepers employed by the President, Gamemakers, and in the Training Center. So there was no way for Ruby to find the Peacekeeper Garnet told to fact-check her son's statement.

Ruby thought for a second. "Well, we could just pull Drew out from the Selection girls now. Swap 'em out one for the other. That would fix the mistake."

"No!" Garnet exclaimed. "That would ruin the relationship between Drew and Honey; she'd feel that it was her fault that he went into the Games. And I'm not letting either of them die because of someone else's mistake!

"Is there any other person that you could sub in for Drew or something? Like someone who would have nothing to lose?"

Ruby thought again. _Someone with nothing to lose… someone with nothing to lose…_

"I think I might have just the person."

* * *

 _Carina-Jean Laurent, 17, Capitol_

* * *

Even though she was in jail, CJ wasn't exempt from watching any part of this Quell.

CJ had been in jail for over a month now, thanks to someone who leaked the names of the people in Alexios Nox's Anti-Snow movement. She could still clearly remember the day she was captured. She had been in class as usual, minding her own business, when the Peacekeepers had burst in and taken her away. Immediately, rumors had started flying: CJ was a terrorist, she was a rebel, etc. Luckily, her parents had stated that she needed to be quarantined because of some medical issues; considering her birth and origin, that was certainly a feasible circumstance.

Carina-Jean Laurent was the "daughter" of Carina Laurent and Jean Lockwood, two doctors who gave their DNA to a project aiming to create desirable children who would live long lives with minimal defects or mutations. Jean was only an intern, and so CJ ended up living primarily with Carina, but didn't really grow up with any parental figure. At age ten, she was finally able to live among the rest of the Capitolites, as opposed to the strict rules she'd been subjected to as a member of her group of test-tube babies. As she grew away from the group, CJ, desperate for a father figure and a friend, gravitated to Alexios Nox, who had opened her eyes to the world and to the horrible things that the Snow line was doing in Panem. Over the two years she'd spent with Alexios, she'd become a devotee to the cause, beginning to sneak out from the home she shared with Dr. Laurent frequently to spend more time with the man who'd opened her eyes.

Granted, it was her involvement with Alexios that had put her in jail, away from the outside world and the night sky; it was one of her favorite things to take walks in the night time, and she hadn't been able to do so for so long. But she'd stayed faithful to the group. Despite numerous interrogations, nothing about Alexios Nox or any of his comrades had left her mouth.

CJ shook herself out of her thoughts. She needed to focus on Garnet's picks; a lot was riding on this for her movement as well. After all, it was Alexios's group that had orchestrated the transfer of the Peterson sisters from Four to Eleven.

See, their parents, while seen as traitors, were actually original members of the Nox group, who had been sent into Four to try to drum up support for a rebellion there. When they were found out and executed, the Capitol wanted to try to move their kids away from what could be a larger pocket of rebellion in Four to the not-rebellious-at-all Two. The Nox group had (at that point) had an advisor to the President who had hoped to encourage Ruby to move them to the very-rebellious Eight, to try to keep the spirit of the rebellion alive in the kids of two phenomenal rebels. Eventually, they got Rain and Summer into the moderately rebellious (yet very controlled) Eleven; the aim of the Nox movement was, once they were out of Reaping age, to get them back into the Capitol and connected with the rest of the movement.

CJ watched the screen intently; as soon as Rain was revealed, she breathed a huge sigh of relief. Now, continuing with their plan involving the Peterson girls would be even easier, because neither could ever be Reaped.

As the broadcast ended, CJ turned away from the television; she knew that there would be some lag time before the Pre-Games. She was sick of the Games. CJ couldn't stand how every prison cell had a television in it; unlike in Capitol homes, where one could just leave the house or go to another room, she was really forced to watch every second of the Games. She figured that that was the goal of the Capitol; this way, they could remind the prisoners of their absolute power.

Just as the broadcast came out of commercial, CJ jumped at the sound of her cell door opening. She rarely got visitors – it was too risky for Alexios to visit her in prison, where she could easily be captured, and her mom was too busy, not to mention that she didn't have a strong connection with her daughter in the first place, a connection which was especially strained now that it was known that CJ was involved in the rebel group. But, it was especially unusual that she'd be taken out of her cell, away from a TV, during a Games broadcast.

The strong, tan, male Peacekeeper from Two (at least, she assumed he was from Two) led her to a visiting pod; the room was split in half by a glass wall, and there were chairs on each side of the wall for the people. When CJ saw who was sitting in the chairs on the other side, her eyes narrowed; she was likely in for another interrogation, and that couldn't be good.

"Hello, President Emerald."

"Hello again, CJ."

"Here to interrogate me again?"

"Actually," Ruby smiled, "I have an offer for your freedom."

CJ cocked her head to the side. Nothing could possibly be that simple. "What do you mean?"

Ruby explained, "Because of some… unforeseen circumstances, the need has arisen to swap out one of the tributes in the Games. I am not going into details about it now, but I want to extend the offer to you to replace them."

The girl's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?" she asked.

"Your hair will be cut to look like the tribute you will be replacing; your eyes already match theirs. We will be swapping you in for the other tribute tonight, most likely. If you win as that tribute, they will take your place as the Victor, but you will get to live a life of freedom in the districts. If you lose, well…"

"And why does this benefit me?"

"Well, let's see." Ruby sounded more sinister than normal. "We have been… how shall I say it… exceptionally lenient with you, considering the person with whom you have ties, because of your age. But, you are now four months exactly out from your eighteenth birthday, which I believe is on December 1st?"

"Correct…" CJ said cautiously. Lying to the President was very different than withholding information.

"That means that you have hit the point at which we begin to use torture methods to obtain information. And once you reveal that information, I can't guarantee that you will actually be able to leave prison. This way, you have a shot."

CJ thought about it. The Games might be bad, and against everything she stood for, but this was her only shot to get out of prison, and maybe even get in touch with Alexios.

And plus, she really wanted to see the night sky again.

* * *

CJ, escorted by two Peacekeepers, followed Ruby to another room underground. In it were a salon chair and a table with a clipboard on it.

"Before we do all of the work for you to go into the Games, we want to make sure that we're all on the same page. Please flip through this contract that we whipped up for you. It outlines certain tenants that you have to agree to before we do this."

CJ read through the contract. She quickly identified the important things: she couldn't reveal to anybody that she wasn't the given tribute, she couldn't try to make contact with anyone outside of the Arena, all that kind of confidentiality stuff. It also outlined the things that she'd already discussed with Ruby, as well as the tenants of what would happen afterwards, though CJ couldn't focus on that. She knew that, by signing it, it would severely diminish her chances of later being able to connect with Alexios and the rest of the movement, but she didn't care at this point; she had a better chance this way than by staying in jail, and if she got tortured and revealed information, that would be much worse for her physical and mental health, and for the later success of the movement. At least in the Games, she couldn't give Ruby any more information. (CJ had also noticed over the part that said, if she didn't listen to the tenants of the contract, Ruby reserved the right to send mutts after her with intention to kill.) She signed her name with a flourish: _Carina-Jean Laurent_ , in large, looping letters.

"Excellent," Ruby said. "Now, in order to make you look like this tribute, we're going to need to make some changes."

Twenty minutes later, CJ's hair was cut short into a pixie cut and dyed black. Apparently, everything else was close enough that it wouldn't look weird on camera. She got dressed in a pair of black pants, a yellow dress shirt, and a black bow tie and jacket, and put on a thick yellow bracelet that would act as her tracker. Underneath, she was wearing a compression shirt; luckily for everyone involved, she wasn't nearly chesty enough to struggle to pass as a male, but they did want it to play it safe in case things changed.

During that time, she'd watched the District Three Reapings, Chariot Rides, and Interviews, everything televised about him. He confused her; during the Reaping, he'd been crying, but by the time he got to the chariots and the interviews, he was much more cheerful. He wasn't happy about being there, clearly, but disguised it well; she needed to somehow express that during the Games. Then, she was played a video of his private session, which she was told to keep confidential as well; from that video, she learned that Drew was decent with the trident, which was good to know. She'd probably end up working with knives, which she preferred, because nobody would know, but she also learned from that that she needed to not appear too good with them, because he only got a 7 in training.

"We're good!" called the stylist who was working on her. Ruby, Amethyst, and Garnet came into the room. They stood across from CJ and sized her up.

"She'll pass for Drew," Garnet said, "but she'll need a copy of Honey's token because they didn't switch those before going into the Games. Maybe you can ask the review board for it?"

"We'll get there later; that's something small enough that people probably won't notice. We'll use the tracker to communicate with Honey-as-Drew to ask her to take off her token and put it in her pocket; then, CJ will take hers out of her pocket eventually. Have they shown her during the pre-Games yet, Garnet?"

"Yeah, but her hands were in the suit pockets, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"How long until launch?"

Garnet checked his watch. "Not enough time to get CJ there."

"So we'll swap her out tonight," Amethyst joined in. "If Honey doesn't leave the room, we can swap them out easily. I'll take it from here."

Ruby addressed CJ. "I will load the terms of your contract onto your tracker so that you don't forget this. If you have any problems, find a quiet place away from everyone else, and address a camera. May the odds be ever in your favor, CJ."

Amethyst motioned to CJ, who followed her into a hovercraft. "This is one of those disappearing crafts; at some point, it'll materialize in the Arena and you'll swap out with Honey. When you get on the hovercraft, she thinks you're actually Drew, so start acting like him; that's what you'll have to do permanently, anyway. She's been sworn to secrecy about the whole situation, so don't worry about things getting out. I have to get back to the Games Center to initiate launch, so she'll escort you to the Arena. Good luck!"

CJ got on the hovercraft, and suddenly came face to face with the girl who must have been Sami; she had tannish skin, caramel-colored hair, and chocolate brown eyes, and actually looked quite normal for a Capitolite. "This must suck, Drew, to think you're safe and then realize that you're not," she lamented.

"Yeah, it is kind of difficult," replied CJ.

But she quickly discovered that, at least for the time being, CJ was no more.

* * *

As Garnet went back to his room to get some sleep, as he was tired, Ruby and Amethyst stood in the room, watching as CJ left.

"Keep someone watching her at all times, Amethyst," Ruby instructed. "I don't know how well this is going to go, but we had no other option. If anything goes weird, get me immediately, even if it's the middle of the night."

"Why did you do this anyway, Ruby? You could have just swapped the two out, or not done anything."

Ruby sighed. "Garnet picked twenty-six girls, and Honey was among them. Clearly, for Garnet, it was important to actually consider Honey, and not just leave her or her twin in the dust."

* * *

 **I think I've said multiple times that you've met all the characters in this story, and I've lied every time; CJ has been my best-kept secret here! But here she is, the solution to Garnet's problem! Now, this doesn't necessarily mean that Garnet loves Honey, but it does mean that he wants to equally consider every girl.**

 **Do you think she'll be able to hold up her end of the bargain? Will she be able to accurately pass as Drew? Did Ruby make a mistake in trusting her, and does Ruby really trust her?**

 **Next chapter, we'll see a bit of what the Selection girls are up to, and then we're getting into the Games!**

 **Thank you all so much for your support!**

 **-goldie031**


	36. The Pre-Games Show

As the girls Garnet selected were escorted off stage, Delilah gravitated towards Janari, who was just a few girls behind her; as two girls sent into the Games for the Selection, the two had grown quite close to each other during training.

"We did it!" Delilah exclaimed, giving Janari a hug. "We're safe!"

"Yeah," Janari said quietly. "That's good." She smiled shyly, more than willing to just follow the bubblier girl from One for the time being. Maybe she'd need to stand out more later on, but now was not that time.

The 26 girls – well, 25, because Pacifica had stormed off – were led back into the Training Center, where they gathered in a common room area on the ground floor. A chair had been placed in the middle of the room; the petite, purple-haired woman who had led them off-stage stood on it and addressed the crowd.

"Hello ladies!" she exclaimed. "For those of you who don't know me, my name is Violet Emerald. I am Amethyst's daughter, and I am the head of the Selection, meaning that I will be in charge of you ladies until you are sent back to your homes. We have a lot of details to go through, but I know you guys want to watch the Pre-Games stuff, so I'll only do the necessary things now.

"For tonight, you'll be staying on your floors that you were on for the past week; the secondary escorts from your respective districts will be returning here to stay with you, as they will for the rest of your time here in the Capitol. Tomorrow, we'll move into another building, but we're gonna stay here tonight for simplicity's sake. We'll have the Games on tonight here in the lounge, but you could totally also go upstairs to your floors and watch there. We're going to ask that you not go onto other people's floors for tonight; everyone may be reacting to being picked in a different way, and so we want to give people that privacy. We won't call curfew, but we will be waking up at 8 tomorrow, so bear that in mind. Have a good night!" With that, Violet turned and left the room.

The girls looked around at each other. Some of the younger girls, especially Brooklyn and Maddi, looked a bit nervous being in such close proximity to the Careers. As everyone settled in to watch, three distinct groups formed. The little girls sat all the way on the left, Erin kind of separate from the girls form Eleven and Twelve. The Careers usurped the center section to get the best vantage point. That left most of the older girls to the Careers' right, sitting more or less by alliance. Delilah noticed that Dania, Pacifica, and Honey were missing; she figured Pacifica was too mad to see anyone else, but she couldn't figure out why the other two weren't there. She didn't think much of it, though, as she turned her attention to the TV screen.

"Well, wasn't that exciting!" exclaimed Harli in her standard peppy tone. "Well, that was so exciting to, wasn't it, Dorian?"

"Yep," Dorian replied. "It's so interesting to see the way that Garnet chose his girls. But now, we turn the attention to the opening of the Hunger Games! Let's tune into the Arena cameras to get our first glimpse at what our tributes will be facing this year."

The image on the screen switched to an overhead shot of the Arena. Brooklyn perked up; anything related to the myths of ancient princes and princesses had interested her since she was younger. So while she recognized that she didn't want to be in the Arena, she would have liked to spend time in that castle. It looked like a big letter X surrounded by a square, with turrets on each corner; the castle was in the middle of a grassy circle about 2 miles in diameter, which in turn was surrounded by a forest with no end in sight.

"Well, Dorian, this looks like an Arena fit for a princess! The eight main corridors of the castle have three levels each; the great hall and throne room can be found where the four lines of the X meet, and they are the only two rooms that span all three stories. Smaller hallways extend from the main corridors, creating a veritable labyrinth of a castle."

"Now, the forest is usable as the outdoor component of the Arena," Dorian explained, "but only sort of. There is one water source due east of the castle, and no food sources; rabid mutts populate that area as well, making it nearly impossible to survive."

The screen switched to various shots of rooms in the Capitol. "So," Harli said, "the castle has all the supplies the tributes will need; various rooms are stocked with food, water, and weapons, anything that they need to survive. More importantly, each tribute has been launched into a room stocked with packaged food, water, and their weapon of choice as demonstrated in their private sessions. We've been told that there are two reasons why this occurred. The first is that Garnet urged it to happen. He believed that, if he was putting those girls into the position of the Games, he should throw them all a bone. He even requested that a note be put in each girl's bag that says, "Just because I didn't pick you doesn't mean that you don't matter and that your identity isn't valid. Good luck, Garnet."

"That's so sweet, Harli! But remember the second reason, which apparently made the Gamemakers and the President equally excited. See, with the tributes launching into separate rooms, they won't know the other tributes in the Games, especially because they will never be explicitly told. They will only find out that someone was in the Games when that person's face is shown in the sky, as they will with the Selection tributes. But more on that later when the Games are about to begin."

"Now, let's talk about a few of the tributes first, because you haven't met them yet. Because of the complicated nature of the Quell, especially from the perspective of the Gamemakers and their preparations, we secretly reaped two backup tributes and one emergency tribute. Due to a combination of Garnet's choices and the unfortunate pre-Games death of Incredible Grant for reasons that were not disclosed to us, all three of them will be involved in the Games. The two backup tributes, Lavender Aroma from District One and Nyx Mynier from District Twelve," Harli discussed as videos of the girls pacing in the rooms they'd launched into in the castle, which essentially looked like bedrooms, showed up on screen, "had the opportunity to train with the other tributes, but the third, Blaze Donohue, also from District One, did not; consequentially, with the exception of the girls from One, including Delilah, nobody knows about the existence of Blaze. These three tributes had an opportunity to have private sessions with the Gamemakers and receive training scores, as well as private interviews with myself, which were pre-taped. Let's watch those now, beginning with Blaze, who scored a 7."

As the interviews began, the tributes in the Training Center tuned out; Harli and Dorian would, after the interviews, give a quick rundown of all of the other tributes in the Games. Meanwhile, slightly bored, the other Careers present turned to Delilah, the only representative from One present. "You didn't tell us about Blaze!" Thyra exclaimed.

Delilah recognized that the Capitol had used some sort of cover-up for the Blaze situation; as she discovered Creddi's body, she'd heard about all of President Emerald's plans. But she figured it would behoove her to play along. "This was all very quick. The Creddi mess happened last night, right after the interviews, and as the third backup tribute, Blaze had to be kept secret unless it became necessary to use her. Blaze was actually the chosen volunteer in place of Creddi, who was rogue, so it's fitting that she ended up involved."

"For good reason," scoffed Bellona.

"So, what's the pack weapon breakdown now?"

"Hmm," thought Thyra. "What's Blaze's weapon, Delilah? Do you know?"

"She actually did some training with me; she, Creddi, Lavender, and I were all in the same Academy. Blaze had to take some time off in the middle of last year, but she's decent at hand-to-hand. Probably deserved that 7, but I would have given Lavender another point in that case. She has some skills."

"Maybe because Lavender is so young?" suggested Bonnie. The girls nodded in agreement.

"So that leaves them with Arieyn and poison or poisonous blow darts, Lavender and knives or hand-to-hand, Ravi with hand-to-hand and sort of a staff if she feels like it, Blaze with hand-to-hand, Carissa with the sword, Vixyn and her twin double-bladed axes, and Nanami, of course, with a trident," Thyra processed. "That's not a bad weapons breakdown."

"What's a weapons breakdown?" asked Danira, the first to break the figurative wall between the Careers and the non-Careers.

Bellona explained, "Every trained tribute has some form of specialty weapon. The weapons breakdown is something that we think of when we're working as a pack, because we have to work together; it's basically who uses what weapon. So there's a pretty wide variety of weapons this year, like knives and tridents and everything else I just said. That's good, because years where at least half of the pack works with one weapon in particular lead the pack to kinda fail."

"Interesting," Danira said. "I never noticed that."

"It's not something that you really think about," Delilah mentioned, "but it is there. It's part of the reason why nine of the last 24 Victors have been from One, Two or Four, though Four is less involved with the Pack than One and Two are."

Finally, the interviews finished, and Harli and Dorian appeared on the screen. "Now, let's pipe into the Arena and give the tributes some information. You have heard some of this before, so bear with us," smiled Harli.

The images returned to the Arena, as the screen periodically flipped between groups of six tributes. As Dorian gave the information to those waiting in rooms, their reactions were varied; most appeared nervous while some, primarily the Careers, seemed excited to show their stuff.

"Greetings, tributes of the One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Hunger Games! Please listen to the following important information.

"In your rooms, you will find a backpack. In it, there is a second outfit that may be more comfortable than your dress, if you would like to change into it. You have also been provided in those packs with a day's supply of food and water, and you can also find a weapon somewhere in your room that you displayed in your private sessions with the Gamemakers. Those are courtesy of Garnet, and the fact that there is no Cornucopia in this year's Games.

"As usual, the sounding of a cannon will alert you to the death of a tribute. However, there is one additional sound to listen for. When you hear the sound of these trumpets specifically, it means that someone has been sent home from the Selection." Dorian paused to allow the trumpets to sound; it was a regal-sounding, nine note sequence that was quite different from the trumpets used to alert the tributes in other situations. "Once that happens, their faces will be shown in the sky under a different category. You will not be told which 26 girls were Selected, nor against whom you are currently competing."

Dorian paused for a moment to let things sink in, and to make sure that he'd given the tributes all of the appropriate information. The girls in the Training Center held their breath in anticipation; their district partners and alliance mates (except for the very lucky District Five girls) were about to compete to the death, and they were admittedly nervous.

"I believe I have given you all of the applicable information. If I have missed anything, you will be notified by the usual trumpets and not the Selection trumpets. You may move around your room as you have been, and the doors to your rooms will unlock once the countdown finishes. So, without further ado…

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let the One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Hunger Games begin!"

* * *

 **Hey everyone!**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It would've been up sooner but I've been dealing with computer problems all night. But it's sort of fixed now.**

 **I would personally consider another twist in this chapter, though it's a different twist than the others; the earlier twists impact just a few tributes while this one impacts a large swath of people. I hope I hit all the rest of the information I needed to here; if not, we'll figure out a way to work it in later ;).**

 **One important thing I wanted to bring up here is sponsoring! I'm not going to have a set upsystem in terms of points, but requests need to be reasonable. If you have tributes in the Games (not Selection) you may sponsor any of your tributes; if not, you may pick any two tributes to sponsor.**

 **What did you guys think about the layout of the Arena? Do you think it's interesting? Will it help or hurt the tributes? What about the coverup of the Creddi-Blaze mess?**

 **Next chapter is the Bloodbath! I'm in the process of figuring out the chapter and it's logistics, but I'm hoping to have it up on Sunday.**

 **Thanks for all of your support!**

 **-goldie031**


	37. Games: The First Hours

**A few important notes before I start that I forgot to mention at the end of last chapter.**

 **The sound of the trumpets I'm thinking of is from Into the Woods. They're the trumpets that play right before the Agony scene. If you know what I'm talking about, great! If not, google it. You'll find it eventually. And if you really can't find anything, make something up!**

 **Secondly, it is a pain to notate location in this Arena. The system I came up with is pretty easy, I think. On each floor, a tribute can be in one of 13 general locations: the four corners (upper right, upper left, lower right, lower left); the four hallways that make up the sides of the square (upper, lower, left, and right); the four diagonal hallways (upper right, upper left, lower right, lower left); and the Great Hall complex, which is in the center of the square where the four diagonal hallways intersect. As I mentioned last chapter, the Great Hall is the only room in the castle that spans all three floors in height, though there are balconies on the second and third floor that overlook the great hall.**

 **Finally, another note about sponsoring. If a tribute you're sponsoring dies, whether they're your own or one you've decided to sponsor, you may choose to sponsor another tribute in their place; however, unless you have three of your own tributes alive in the Games, you may not sponsor more than two at a time. Please let me know via PM if you'd like to sponsor any tribute.**

 **Now, finally, on to the Games!**

* * *

 _Silver Flower, 16, District Eight_

 _Location: Upper Right Hand Corner, Third Floor_

* * *

As the announcements from Dorian finished up, Silver felt her heart beat faster and faster. She wasn't sure she was ready for this; her hope was to at least be able to save one person before she died. Her parents had imbued a philosophy in her since she was younger: he who saves one life, it is as if he has saved an entire world. She at least hoped that she'd be able to fulfill that mantra once before she died.

As the timer counted down, Silver glanced around her room. She had decided not to change out of the purple dress she was wearing; she really liked how it felt, and she kind of wanted to feel pretty during her time in the Arena. So, she took the purple pack she'd been given and put the extra outfit, a pair of black cargo pants and a purple t-shirt that had been left on the bed in the room, in the middle pocket of three. She was pleased to find the food and water supply in the back pocket, and in the front-most pocket, six kakute, little spike rings that fit on her fingers and were pretty deadly when used right.

Finally, the countdown hit zero, and Silver heard the lock on her door click open. She grabbed open the door handle and pulled it open, trying to get her bearings in an arena she hadn't exactly been expecting. She found herself in a long hallway; looking to her left, she could vaguely see what looked like a balcony looking over a great room. To the right was the intersection of her hallway and two others, clearly a corner; she also noticed a stair case going down at the corner. Silver figured that there was some form of Cornucopia in that great hall, and so decided to go downstairs to the second level to see if she could get into the Great Hall from there. If not, she decided to return to the staircase and go down another level until she could get to what was inevitably the main source of supplies for the Games.

Silver ran down the stone spiral staircase to the second floor. When she came onto the floor, she identified easily the diagonal hallway slightly to her left that looked just like the one on the floor above, as well as the two other intersecting hallways in front of her and directly to her left. She paused for a moment and squinted.

Silver didn't need to squint. She knew exactly what she saw in front of her, even though it took a second for it to register.

Little Lavender Aroma and her knife, charging full-speed at her.

It took everything in her to resist instinct. Lavender might be little, but she was more deadly than many of the older tributes in the Games. Silver turned around and ran, turning to the hallway that was now slightly to her right. Then, she froze again; now it was Carissa Lovarre, sword in hand, directly in front of her. Silver turned around again, trying to get to the third of the three hallways that intersected at the corner, but her way was blocked by Carissa.

The last thing she saw was the older Career's sword being stabbed into her heart.

* * *

 _Carissa Lovarre, 18, District Two_

 _Location: Upper Right Hand Corner, Second Floor_

* * *

BOOM!

Carissa was a little bit shaken up. She was surprised, admittedly, to have gotten the first kill of the Games. And she was surprised by how easily she had done it. Carissa understood that, to get out of the Arena, she need to kill, but she didn't expect it to be that simple and easy.

But now she was one step closer to the fame and glory she'd always desired.

"Carissa! Is that you?"

"Lavender?" called Carissa.

"Oh, it's so good to find an ally!" Lavender exclaimed, giving the much older girl an awkward hug. "I was worried I wouldn't find anybody else, but I'm glad I found you, especially because of our Final Two deal."

Carissa sized up the younger girl. She was holding a throwing knife in each hand, and, like Carissa, had changed into the pants and white shirt provided. She seemed excited, and energized, ready to cause some damage; that was the kind of ally Carissa was looking for.

"So what's the plan now, Carissa?" asked Lavender, as carefully took Silver's pack off of her dead body.

"Let's walk around this floor and see if we can find some of the other Careers. If you're here, they're probably here too."

The two girls looked down the diagonal hallway; they didn't see anybody else, so they decided to start by going to their left. The walked slowly; while it would be good to find other Careers, they at least had each other, which was a good start.

"This is a bit unusual," remarked Carissa.

"What do you mean?" Lavender replied.

"Well, usually Careers hunt tributes from the Outer Districts. Rarely do they hunt other Careers."

* * *

 _Weave Flasherett, 17, District Eight_

 _Location: Lower Right Hand Corner, First Floor_

* * *

As the countdown finished, Weave burst out the door of her room. She knew she'd need to move quickly, and she really wanted to find her allies, Elysia and Dania, if they were both in the Games. Then, they'd be able to figure out their next move.

Weave found herself right around the intersection of three hallways; one straight ahead, one due right, and one slightly to her right, at a diagonal. She saw one person in the hallway straight ahead of her, in a white shirt, meaning that she was from One; the girl was retreating from Weave, but she still didn't want to go near her. Weave took a step towards the hallway slightly to her right, but immediately stopped as a door opened and Kylis from Nine came out. The two girls locked eyes. Weave turned to run away, but the sound of Kylis's voice stopped her.

"Hey, you're Dania's ally, right?" asked Kylis.

"Yeah," Weave replied, backing away from the other girl, who was at least half a foot taller and also probably stronger than her.

"You want to find her then, yes?"

"Yes…"

"Well, I want to find her as well. Do you want to work together?"

"Sure," said Weave shyly. "I was planning on going down this hallway; there's a Career in that one to our left, so going to the right is probably the best plan."

"That's fine with me. I'm literally just interested in finding Dania."

The two girls began to walk down the hallway towards what the audience would recognize as the upper right hand corner of the castle. As they were walking, they saw a girl walking towards them in a red shirt. Weave breathed a huge sigh of relief; she might not have the best eye, but she knew exactly to whom that light brown pixie cut belonged. "Elysia!" she yelled, waving at the other girl.

"Hey, Weave!" replied Elysia slowly. The two picked up their pace to meet in the middle; Kylis dragged behind a little bit, but followed suit.

"I'm glad I found you," Weave said. "Have you seen Dania?"

"All I've seen is Eloise. She went down that hallway, and she's hoping to maybe find Peach or Cheyenne from her district." Elysia pointed behind her, then due left. "I came from that hallway on the diagonal over there." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Why is Kylis with you?"

"She wants to find Dania as well," Weave whispered back. "Plus, a strong ally might not be a bad idea. Do you see how tall she is?"

"Good point. But I think we should be careful; if we find Dania, I don't want to lose both of them."

Finally, Kylis caught up to the other two. "Let's keep moving, but I think we should pick a room on this hallway to stay in for the night once the anthem plays." The younger girls nodded, and the group moved out, desperate to find the other girl.

* * *

 _Ferrari Benz, 15, District Six_

 _Location: Upper Left Hand Corner, First Floor_

* * *

Ferrari burst out of her room, only to find herself face-to-face with Cheyenne from Ten. The two girls locked eyes, then Cheyenne turned and ran the other way, down the diagonal hallway leading to the Great Hall.

Ferrari would normally be OK with facing another tribute, but she wasn't super interested in running after Cheyenne. She wanted to turn to her left, to run towards the lower left hand corner, but caught a glimpse of a girl in a forest-green shirt with bright red hair. She had no interest in dealing with Freida, but when she looked down the hallway straight ahead of her, she saw a girl with golden brown hair wearing a blue shirt and the cargo pants.

Now she was a bit stuck. Down one hallway was the girl who she had just let run away, and it would look pretty weird if she ran after her again. Down the second hallway was a Career. And down the third hallway was Freida.

To cut her losses, Ferrari decided to run towards Freida; she figured that the girl had slightly better odds of not killing her. But instantly, Freida threw an axe at Ferrari's head. The girl from Six ducked, turned, and ran down the other hallway towards the Career. Eventually, she caught up with her; the girl certainly didn't look like your typical Career, and seemed pretty nervous.

 _Hmm,_ thought Ferrari. _A nervous Career could be a good ally for me, at least until I can find Nadina._

"Hey! Watch out!" Ferrari exclaimed. "Freida's coming, and she has axes."

"Oh boy. Thanks for letting me know. Come on!" The other girl led Ferrari to a room in the hallway, which turned out to be the room she'd launched from. "What's your name?" she asked, as she slammed the door behind her.

"I'm Ferrari. District Six."

"Nanami, Four." The girls shook hands. "Why did you warn me?"

"You're a Career, and you must be strong. I need a good ally."

Nanami thought for a second; Ferrari was certainly interested in knowing what was running through her head. "You have a lot of faith in me, just from knowing that I'm from a Career district. What if I'm actually incapable of killing, and I'm super scared?"

"Then I can be brave for you."

Nanami held out her hand to Ferrari. "You have a deal, at least with me. I can't guarantee what'll happen when we meet up with the other Careers, though."

* * *

 _Narcissa Wilder, 18, District Eleven_

 _Location: Upper Left Hand Corner, First Floor_

* * *

After changing out of the dress into the provided secondary outfit, Narcissa had decided to give it a few moments before leaving her room.

After all, she didn't really need to move. They'd never said that she had to. Narcissa was perfectly content sitting around, eating the food given to her in her pack and waiting for something to happen.

Not three minutes after the lock to her door had clicked open, she heard a cannon. The reality of the situation hit her; she decided to start moving towards some sort of other food source. After all, she was kind of running out. She also needed to find her ally, Elizah, so that she'd have a better shot in the Games.

Plus, with her luck, nothing could possibly go wrong.

Narcissa took her pack and slowly opened the door. She looked to her left first, and thankfully saw a familiar face: Amaryllis Horne, from her own district! "Hey, Amaryllis!" Narcissa called, running towards her.

A look of fear suddenly overtook Amaryllis's face. She froze, unable to move. Narcissa turned around and saw what had struck fear into Lis's heart.

Ravi Waterford was running right at them.

Narcissa instinctively took action. She grabbed Amaryllis's shoulders and threw the other girl between her and Ravi. Amaryllis screamed and squirmed at Narcissa's touch, but the taller girl kept her district partner tightly in front of her. Narcissa figured that, as long as she kept the other girl in front of her, Ravi would be so wrapped up in killing Amaryllis that she would be fine.

When Ravi got to the pair from Eleven, however, Narcissa realized the flaw in her plan. With one flat hand strike to the nose, the Career took Amaryllis out; the shorter girl slumped to the floor, at which point Ravi broke her neck for good measure.

BOOM!

Before Narcissa could react and run – not that running would have done much good, as she wasn't nearly as fast as Ravi – the Career had her hands on Narcissa as well. Ravi pulled her hand back; as her flat hand approached Narcissa's temple, a last thought ran through her head.

 _So this is what it's like for things to not go your way._

* * *

 _Arieyn Occisor, 17, District One_

 _Location: Lower Hallway, First Floor_

* * *

BOOM!

Arieyn kept walking calmly as the third cannon of the day went off. She was comfortable in her position; in her pack, she'd been given a blowgun and a bag of poison darts, meaning that she could probably take out any other tribute.

Granted, she wasn't sure exactly which poison was on the darts, but she had a feeling it wouldn't be good for anyone; at worst, it would incapacitate the tribute, allowing an ally to actually take them out.

An ally like Vixyn.

Arieyn had exited her room and found herself smack in the middle of a long hallway. She decided to move to her right, towards what the audience would recognize as the lower left hand corner of the square. She hoped Vixyn would be there; as the pack leader, Vixyn had the best understanding of everyone else, and was the safest person to be with.

Plus, she was pretty cute; red hair was Arieyn's weakness. And she was nice, once you got past the tough exterior. Arieyn didn't know if Vixyn felt the same way about her, but she certainly hoped it was the case.

 _Focus, Arieyn,_ she thought, as she kept making her way down the corridor. _Careers aren't supposed to feel things. If you win, she can't._

As Arieyn kept walking down the seemingly endless corridor, she saw a figure slowly descending the staircase; the girl with dirty blonde hair seemed a bit dazed, almost as if she had no idea what was happening. Arieyn knew exactly who it was: Drenaline Fisher, from Six.

Arieyn pulled out her blowgun and a dart, but then paused for a second. As strong as her poison was, she was still a bit too far away from Drenaline for the dart to hit, and if she lost track of where it was, she could end up stepping on it and poisoning herself, or totally losing the dart, which could also come back to bite her. And if she ran to get to Drenaline, she could lose the biggest advantage she had: the element of surprise. Drenaline was so dazed at this point that she wasn't moving, but if Arieyn ran towards her, Drenaline could easily slip up the stairs, out of her range. The best choice, decided Arieyn, was just to keep going slowly, and shoot once she got in range.

As she watched Drenaline wander around the corner aimlessly, a double-bladed axe flew out of another hallway and impaled Drenaline in the skull. Arieyn's heart skipped a beat.

Only one person had that kind of good aim with a double-bladed axe.

 _Thank goodness._

"Nice shot, Vixyn," called Arieyn, as she picked up her pace a little bit to reach the corner. Vixyn met her, coming out of the diagonal hallway that met with the two straight hallways there.

"Thanks! Oh, it's so good to find another Career, and a Pack Lead at that. But let's keep moving; we probably have more people to find. There have been four kills so far; I'd bet all of them are by Careers."

Vixyn quickly cut Drenaline's pack off of her back and tied it on to her own. Then, the girls turned to the third hallway that had intersected with the ones they'd come from; they were pretty sure that nobody else was in the hallways they'd come from, so they decided to go down the third one in the hopes of finding someone else. They were instantly rewarded; Ravi Waterford was visible all the way on the other end of the hallway, cutting the packs off of two dead bodies.

"Ravi!" yelled Vixyn.

"Hey guys!" Ravi replied. She got both packs, picked them up, and then walked over to the other Careers to allow the hovercraft to pick up the other two bodies. "Nice kill, Vixyn."

"Thank you." Vixyn smiled.

The three girls sat on the floor, combining the food and water they'd found into their packs; as all three Careers had changed out of their dresses, they had all three pockets of their packs to work with, as opposed to just the front two. Ravi had also taken Amaryllis's pitchfork from her hand, which was the only weapon they'd gotten between the three girls; despite there not being too much food left in Narcissa's pack, there were also some materials to make traps in it, which Vixyn took. The ceilings in the castle were too high to hang traps from them, and they weren't sure if they'd be able to use traps at all, but the materials were good to have. "Especially if there's no Cornucopia this year, we need everything we can get," Vixyn pointed out. Once they were done, they discarded Drenaline's pack, as the straps had been cut, but kept the two brown packs from the District Eleven tributes, just in case they needed more packs, as their straps hadn't been cut. Finally, the three girls stood up, ready to go.

"Which way, Vixyn?" asked Ravi.

"If three of us all launched on this floor, I'm guessing that there are no more Careers here. The staircase near where I killed Drenaline didn't go down at all, so let's go up. Maybe we'll find someone else on the second floor."

So the girls set out, mostly on a mission, but ready to kill if need be.

* * *

 _Other Important Things We Didn't See :_

 _-Peach and Cheyenne both launched onto the third floor, Cheyenne on the upper left diagonal hallway and Peach on the lower left diagonal hallway. They both ran in towards the Great Hall and quickly found each other, as they'd emerged on the same balcony. The girls decided to stay on the balcony for the night, and would hunt for Eloise the next day; they weren't thrilled to be allied together, but each knew they didn't have another option._

 _-The Ferrari/Nanami alliance eventually met up with Blaze in the upper right hand corner of the third floor. Blaze accepted Ferrari into the alliance, and the three decided to go back to Nanami's room and look for the rest of the Careers the next day._

 _-Pix, Nyx, and Tistera would stay in their rooms for the night; none of them wanted to risk getting caught in the carnage, and decided instead to wait for the next day to get moving or, in Pix's case, find her allies._

* * *

 _Alliance List:_

 _The Careers (But They're Splintered!)_ _: Arieyn, Ravi, Blaze, Lavender (D1); Carissa, Vixyn (D2); Nanami (D4)_

 _-_ _The Final Two Deal, also The Middle Pack_ _: Lavender (D1); Carissa (D2)_

 _-_ _The Upper Pack_ _: Arieyn, Ravi (D1); Vixyn (D2)_

 _-_ _The Low Pack + The Brave One_ _: Blaze (D1), Nanami (D4), Ferrari (D6)_

 _The Gender-Benders_ _: Honey-as-Drew, Muire, Pix (D3)_

 _#FindDania_ _: Elysia (D6), Weave (D8), Kylis (D9)_

 _District Ten_ _: Peach, Cheyenne, Eloise_

 _-Missing: Eloise_

 _Loners_ _: Freida (D7), Tistera (D10), Nyx (D12)_

* * *

 **Eulogies**

 **24** **th** **Place: Silver Flower, District Eight, Killed by Carissa Lovarre**

 **Oh, Silver! You were just the sweetest, most well-meaning girl ever, who found herself at the wrong end of a sword. Silver was so dedicated to the younger girls, and in protecting them; even though they were worried about having her in the alliance, she really didn't mean any harm. I had lots of fun writing for her, and I know she will keep protecting the little kids killed in other Games all the way up in Heaven. Thanks SilverflowerxRavenpaw for this super fun tribute!**

 **{Family Fact: Silver's parents, Gold and Bronze, opened up an orphanage in Eight in Silver's memory. The orphanage took in kids of all ages, though it was geared towards the little ones, and helped them get a footing in the district and get jobs before they aged out of the Reaping.}**

 **23** **rd** **Place: Amaryllis Horne, District Eleven, Killed by Ravi Waterford**

 **Amaryllis was such a fascinating tribute! I had never written someone out of the binary before, and it was an interesting experiment for me to put myself in the shoes of someone so different from myself. I know we didn't get to see too much from her, but trust me when I say that she managed to find herself; in her private interview, she was open with Garnet about her gender identity and sexuality, and while she didn't want to die, she realized that if she did, she wanted to be herself. Thanks, i believe in nargles too, for such a dynamic, loaded girl!**

 **{Family Fact: Amaryllis's family became closer after her death, Sage becoming closer to his mother Iris. The other Iris, Amaryllis's sister, in particular took a leading role in helping the family deal with her death, and became an advocate for non-binary rights in Panem.}**

 **22** **nd** **Place: Narcissa Wilder, District Eleven, Killed by Ravi Waterford**

 **So fun fact: Narcissa was actually submitted as a parody, anti-Sue tribute. I decided to see if I could incorporate a parody tribute into the story and make her as well-liked as the other tributes. It turns out that she was one of the more well-liked girls in the story, especially because of her prankster nature. I really enjoyed this challenge, and I'd say you guys liked her too! Thanks, Twili Prince, for such a fun challenge, and I hope you submit to future stories.**

 **{Family Fact: Narcissa's parents had been used to spoiling her, but didn't really have the passion to do so with anyone else. They missed their daughter, and made a shrine to her in their house. Eventually, they were able to have another child, that they named Narcissa Segunda Wilder, who, in their eyes, never quite measured up to her sister, but came close.}**

 **21** **st** **Place: Drenaline Fisher, District Six, killed by Vixyn Kearne**

 **Drenaline! You were so sweet but also kind of hopeless. Waning someone off of morphine or morphling was difficult, to say the least, and she actually snuck a morphine needle into the arena. Maybe she'll find more peace now, away from her abusive family. I struggled a bit to portray her, but I hope I did her justice. Thanks, 66samvr, for Drenaline; I know you still have Weave to root for, so good luck!**

 **{Family Fact: Drenaline's father actually felt remorse once she died; after all, she was the last remnant of her mother. He regretted the abuse that he'd committed, and would repeatedly bring flowers to her grave.}**

* * *

 **Well, that's our first few hours of carnage! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I know I didn't mention Honey-as-Drew and Mu, and that I didn't show the anthem, but that's because I'll be focusing on them next chapter. I also know that I didn't actually get to show everything that happened here, but the more sections I tried to write, the more forced it seemed. I figured it would be better for me to summarize a little bit and not make things feel quite as forced, and I promise I'll focus on those other girls at some point. I can also promise that no girl will die without actually being seen in a POV.**

 **So what did you think about the chapter? Did any of the deaths or the new alliances surprise you? Was the writing style OK and clear? What about the end-of-chapter sections (Other Important Things We Didn't See, Alliance List, Eulogies)?**

 **Next chapter, as I said, we'll focus on Mu and Honey-as-Drew, and see the impact of something you guys definitely know is coming. I can't wait to see you then!**

 **Thank you all for all of your support!**

 **-goldie031**


	38. Games: One Event, Four Perspectives

_Muire Spencer, 17, District Three_

 _Location: Left Hallway, Second Floor_

* * *

As the countdown finished, Mu cautiously peeked out of her door. They weren't sure which way to go, but decided that the best would be to slowly move right, to the lower left corner of the Arena. Once they got there, they looked down the diagonal hallway, and saw that there was a balcony there; they also caught a glimpse of a familiar person in a matching black suit with yellow dress shirt.

Muire picked up their pace a little bit and got to the balcony. They called out to Drew, who didn't respond; Mu figured he didn't hear them, so ran a bit closer and tried again.

"Hey, Drew!"

"Mu! It's good to see a familiar face." Drew waited until Mu caught up with him. "How've you been?"

"I'm good," they replied. "What now?"

"It seems pretty late to me. I think we should take a rest and move on tomorrow."

"I'm fine with that. Do we have anything with which to set up camp? And where do we go."

"Camp is a lucrative term, but we do each have an extra outfit to work with. We could also go into that extra room over there. Or..." Drew looked over the balcony. "Let's go down to the Great Hall. It's bigger and more central, and I think being on the balcony could trap us in a bad way."

Mu nodded. "Sounds good," they said.

Drew led Mu down from the balcony towards the staircase; they carefully found their way towards the throne room and set up camp right behind the two thrones in the room, fairly far away from any of the doors and out of plain sight. "Well, that's camp," Drew proclaimed. "You can go to sleep right after the anthem. I'll stay up."

The two made small talk for a little while, but not three minutes later, the anthem began to play. Mu and Drew noticed that, not only had a whole section of the wall in the Great Hall transformed into a screen on which the images of the dead were projected, but they could also see the deaths on their trackers. Neither of the two were surprised by the first two faces shown. While Mu knew that they were not strong, they still felt that Drenaline and Silver were weak, and while they were sad to see the two girls die, they were glad that they were closer to coming out alive. But seeing Amaryllis's face really shocked her. It hurt her somehow to lose an ally, not to mention one to whom they felt close because of their shared struggles with the gender binary. But they knew deep down that Amaryllis's death brought them closer to living, which was an odd comfort for them. Finally, Narcissa's face came up, before the anthem finished with a flourish.

Suddenly, a butler came out of one of the rooms. Mu instinctively hid behind Drew, but then the butler said, very formally, "I have a package for Muire Spencer."

"I'm Mu," they replied timidly. The butler presented the tray to Mu, then turned around and went back into the room where it came out.

Mu sat down and carefully opened the package. In it they found a soft, warm blanket and a note that read, _We know that you're dealing with the loss of an ally with whom you felt a deep connection. Take this sympathy blanket and rest for the night, and regain strength for tomorrow. -Your mentors._

"That's an interesting way to get sponsor gifts," mentioned Drew.

Mu carefully unfolded the blanket; it was both big enough and comfortable enough that Mu could curl up in it like a sleeping bag. "Bedtime?" they yawned, cuddling with the blanket like a little kid.

"Bedtime. Good night, Mu. I'll wake you up to change watch at some point."

And within minutes, an uneasy sleep washed over them.

* * *

 _Carina-Jean Laurent, 17, Captiol_

 _Posing as Drew Voltas, 16, District Three_

 _Location: Hovercraft, Above the Arena_

* * *

CJ waited patiently on the hovercraft.

Well, she tried to wait patiently. Her heart was beating out of her chest.

She'd spent as much time as she could focusing on what she knew about Drew. The problem was, it wasn't much. CJ knew that Drew was a good guy, with an active streak, but with just what there was on video about Drew, she knew she would struggle to really emulate him. This wasn't only because she was a little tiny bit taller than he, or because her voice was just a bit higher; it was because she wasn't sure how to capture his essence.

But she did have a plan.

All she had to do was win the Games, and then Drew would be taking over as Victor.

The hovercraft's windows were blacked out; CJ had no sense of how late it was outside, but she knew she'd be coming down in the middle of the night. She was too excited to sleep, though; she could easily do that later.

Finally, after what seemed like a very long wait, Sami gave her the OK. The Gamemaker checked CJ's tracker to make sure that it was in place. Then, as the hovercraft lowered, CJ got into position on the electrified ladder, and waited patiently until the bottom of the ladder hit the ground. Then, the electric current dropped off, and CJ carefully stepped down.

First, she got a sense of her surroundings; CJ registered that she was in some sort of throne room or Great Hall. She immediately figured that she was in the central area of the Arena; it would be crucial to get out of there, because other people would inevitable be coming sooner rather than later to meet her.

Then she peeked around the hovercraft, and she noticed the ally that Drew had picked: Muire Spencer, from Three. CJ knew that Muire wasn't exactly the strongest tribute; they'd gotten a 4 in training, and were fairly weak in comparison to some of the other tributes. If CJ was to survive, she needed a stronger ally, and one not from Three to boot.

CJ took a deep breath, knowing the impact this decision could have on Drew and his reputation. But to a certain degree, she didn't care.

CJ made a beeline for the doors of the Great Hall, then ran through the courtyard, into another hallway, and then burst through the main doors of the castle, making a beeline for the woods.

* * *

Amethyst was sitting alone in the Gamemakers' Center, watching as the hovercraft containing CJ touched down. By this time of night, the Gamemakers were usually out of the Center; the only person that had to be cleared out was Luna, the night guard, which was easy; Amethyst had just given her the night off "by Ruby's instruction," and Luna was certainly happy to take it.

Things were going well so far. Sami didn't suspect at all that CJ was in the craft; the other Gamemaker still thought it was Drew, which was good. But Amethyst was specific.

Over the 25 or so years that the two had spent as the Head Gamemaker-President team, Ruby had had her fair share of crazy ideas. Sometimes, like with the 113th Games, they worked, despite Amethyst's protests; they'd even produced Effervescence Capek, possibly the most well-known Victor of the Fifth Quarter-Century of Games. On the other hand, the plan for the 100th Games had been dicey at best, and the entire team was flying by the seat of their pants the whole time; granted, it had been Ruby's first Games, but they'd been messy, leading Amethyst to implement a much more intensive pre-Games preparation process.

But this one took the cake.

Ruby might have gotten a contractual signature from CJ, but that didn't hold her to anything in the Arena; the tracker would also be less effective, as it was outside of the body, and there were only so many mutts in the Arena that could kill. If things went wrong with CJ, there weren't so many ways that the behind-the-scenes team could fix things.

Amethyst hoped it didn't come to that.

The Head Gamemaker watched carefully as the hovercraft touched down; as was the plan, it first collected Honey before letting CJ's ladder down. While Amethyst, knowing what she did about Drew, which was about as much as CJ did (in addition to his weapon of choice), wouldn't have run away from his ally, she couldn't exactly instruct the tribute on what to do; that was her prerogative, after all, and who knows? Drew may have done the same thing.

But then, as Amethyst took a moment to scan the area, she noticed something that alarmed her. And that she really should have noticed before CJ stepped down.

* * *

 _Muire Spencer, 17, District Three_

 _Location: Great Hall, First Floor_

* * *

Mu wasn't sure for how long they were asleep, but they were fairly sure that they'd slept at least a little bit. As they came to, they noticed that Drew had fallen asleep, a few yards away from where they were. Mu decided that it would be a good idea to stay awake for a little bit, just to make sure that everything was OK.

After a few moments of keeping watch, Mu noticed a hovercraft come down and pick Drew up. They didn't think much of it; while they didn't hear the cannon, Mu figured that it was the cannon that woke them up. She was broken; how had she lost two allies in the span of less than a day?

But then, things got weird.

As the hovercraft lifted up, Mu noticed someone else running away from it. The person was wearing a suit, meaning that they didn't identify as female. More oddly, that person hadn't been there when the hovercraft came down.

Mu shrugged. They figured that the person running away was the one who had killed Drew, and didn't think much of it. Then, exhaustion came over them; Mu decided to mourn Drew the next day, and curled up as sleep fell over her.

* * *

 _Honey Voltas, 16, District Three (yes, the real Honey)_

 _Location: A Secluded Room in the Capitol_

* * *

When Honey woke up, she knew that she wasn't in the same place that she'd been in when she fell asleep.

Because she didn't fall asleep in a small, white room.

Did a Career kill her in her sleep? Was this heaven?

Suddenly, a door opened, and a woman in a red outfit came in to lead her into a second, more colorful room. Honey followed with trepidation, but when she got into the room and saw Garnet Emerald, she breathed a huge sigh of relief; while she was still confused, knowing that Garnet was both there and real made her feel better.

"Hi, Honey," Garnet said warmly. "Take a seat," he said, motioning to a plush red chair across from him.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"I just have a few questions for you. Nothing to worry about. And yes, you're alive. Now, the first question that I have is, why do you and Drew switch places?"

"In general?"

"Sure."

"I don't remember exactly why we started at this point, to be honest," Honey admitted, "but we continued up until when we were Reaped because being Drew gave me more confidence. I had to pretend to be so bold and outgoing, and it rubbed off on me; the more I did it, the better I felt about myself."

"I see. And were you ever told not to do this?"

"Yes, by our mentor, Byte; she told us not to on the train to the Capitol."

"So why did you on the morning of the Games?"

Honey thought for a second. She didn't want to incriminate her brother – who knew where he was now? – but she knew that, as a whole, honesty would be the best thing for her in this case. "I don't know entirely. Drew suggested it; I think he wanted to try to instill a bit of confidence in me before we were told where we'd be going. But then I… um… had an emergency that I had to deal with, and so we didn't have a chance to change back, not to mention that the Peacekeeper came to get us much earlier than we anticipated."

Garnet checked his notes, then paused for a second to formulate his thoughts. "So, your brother Drew gave me basically the same answers, which is good. He is waiting over in the next room; we'll go there together now, and then I'll explain the next step to you guys."

Honey breathed a huge sigh of relief. As Garnet led her into the next room, she flung herself into her brother's arms. Drew clearly had a tear-stricken face; as he caressed his sister, he whispered over and over, "I thought I lost you."

Garnet let the two reunite momentarily, and then broke in. "Please take a seat again, my friends." The two obliged, still holding hands. "So, first of all, I have to say how much I appreciate your bond as siblings. My big sister is so much older than me; I don't have nearly this relationship with her. And I admire how Drew, you were willing to let Honey dress up as you to give her more confidence. We also appreciate that both of you are so good at acting as each other that it didn't shake you; neither of you gave the other away publicly, which is also good for us. While I appreciate your reasoning for switching places, I will ask you not to do so again; clearly, we see the danger that it's caused."

"Trust me," Drew assured the slightly older boy, "it will never happen again." He took the wig he'd been holding on to and gave it to his sister. "Never."

"And Honey, we'll be adding extensions to your hair until it can grow out just to be safe, so the wig won't be necessary, unless you'd like to keep it as a memento. Now, the remaining question is what to do with Drew. Obviously, you can't be yourself anymore, unless CJ manages to win."

"Who's CJ?" Honey interjected.

"Honestly irrelevant; you don't know who she is. Info is on a need-to-know basis, and you don't need to know. But anyway. Our plan for now is for you to wait around in the Training Center until the Games end, because the girls are going to be moved out of there; if CJ loses, you'll be posing as an exchange student from the Districts. You'll get some altercations and move in with a family that is willing to take you, and we'll give you a new name, likely Andrew something, depending on the district, so you can still go by Drew. That does, however, mean that the two of you will probably never be together as Honey and Drew again."

Drew nodded. "Sounds fine. Honestly, I'm just happy to be alive, and for Honey to be alive too."

"I'll leave the two of you alone for another few minutes, and then Honey, you'll follow someone into where you're sleeping in the Training Center; the other people don't know that Drew was ever here, and Drew did the smart thing and went back to his room last night, so you should be fine. Just say that you were tired and overwhelmed or something. Drew, you'll stay in here for the night – here's a bed – and tomorrow we'll move you into the Training Center around noon."

"That sounds fine."

The twins looked at each other. Like the enigma that was CJ, their lives would never be the same again.

But at least they would both be alive.

* * *

 _Locations of the Tributes at the End of Day One_

 _CJ Laurent, Posing as Drew Voltas: The Woods Outside of the Castle_

 _Muire Spencer: Great Hall Complex, First Floor_

 _Eloise LaBelle: Lower Hallway, First Floor_

 _#FindDania (Elysia, Weave, Kylis): Upper Hallway, First Floor_

 _Nyx Heyton: Upper Left Diagonal, Second Floor_

 _Upper Pack (Arieyn, Ravi, Vixyn): Lower Left Corner, Second Floor_

 _Middle Pack (Lavender, Carissa): Upper Right Corner, Second Floor_

 _Tistera Leone: Lower Right Corner, Second Floor_

 _Freida Muller: Upper Left Corner, Third Floor_

 _Lower Pack (Blaze, Nanami) + Ferrari: Upper Hallway, Third Floor_

 _District Ten (Cheyenne, Peach): Balcony of Great Hall, Third Floor_

 _Pix Drexel: Right Hallway, Third Floor_

* * *

 **Hey friends! I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! I know that things are super complicated in this storyline, especially with who is actually who and where, but thanks for sticking with me! A reminder that in Mu's POV (and, for that matter, all of the other tribute POVs), the perception is that Honey (or later on, CJ) is Drew, and so CJ-as-Drew (as we get there later on) will be referred to as Drew by the other tributes. Yes, this is a complex plotline. Yes, I do this a lot. No, it's not quite finished yet, and won't be until CJ and Honey die/win/get sent home. Because they're still characters.**

 **Anyway, no deaths this chapter, mostly because of plot driving. I guess in that regard there's not much to say. Did CJ make the right choice by running from Mu? How will her actions (and Mu's actions, in that respect) impact everyone else?**

 **Next chapter we'll be checking in with the Selected girls, most likely, and then we'll go back to the Games! I'll be putting a poll about the Selection ladies on my profile, so make sure to check that out.**

 **Thank you all so much for your support. We've got like 550 reviews, which is amazing; thank you all for that. It really makes my day to read every single one!**

 **-goldie031**


	39. Selection: More Rules and Regulations

"Good morning, Amethyst," said Ruby, coming into the Gamemakers' Center. "How'd the transition go last night?"

"It seemed like it went OK…"

Being sisters who were very close in age, Ruby was able to tell when Amethyst wasn't entirely telling the truth. And it was very clear to the President that her sister was holding something back from her.

"Amethyst. Tell me everything."

The Head Gamemaker sighed. "There's a good chance that Mu Spencer saw what happened. I don't know how much she saw, but she definitely was awake while it was happening."

"Did you…"

"Yes," interjected Amethyst, "I did pipe sleep gas into the room. But with the tributes so spread out in the Arena, I don't know if people will find her before she wakes up. And if Pix finds her…"

Ruby sighed. Why couldn't Garnet have just picked both twins, and then they could have switched back easily? Granted, though, she had been extremely diligent in ensuring that this would be his decision, and he had picked Euodia, which benefited her. Plus, he had taken the whole thing much more seriously than she'd ever expected, and she was glad that he was carefully considering each of his options.

"OK. Let's monitor that situation; we want to keep Sami on guard as much as possible until CJ and Mu die, because she's sort of privy to the whole situation, and someone else can handle her normal station."

"How do you know they're going to die?"

"Have you seen the Careers? And either way…" Ruby gave Amethyst a knowing glare.

"You and I both know that, no matter what Garnet has tried to do, they can't come out alive. That knowledge would be dangerous if it gets out."

* * *

 _Cayman Rye, 16, District Nine_

* * *

When Cayman woke up in the morning, she felt the previous night's relief wash over her again. She was safe, she had a fresh start, and she had never been happier.

After a few moments in which she savored in her safety, and the safety of her siblings, Cayman got up and got ready for the day. She was unhappy, however, to see that an outfit had again been picked out for her; today, it was a beige sundress and a pair of black flats. Cayman reluctantly got dressed, hoping not to have to wear that much more beige. It was a bit dull for her.

After getting ready fairly quickly, Cayman came out to the main area of the floor, where Melvina was sitting and eating, along with Boebette Crete, the secondary escort of District Nine. "Good morning, Cayman," said Boebette. "Come and take a seat, and have some breakfast! How are you dealing, coping, all of that?"

"I'm good, Boebette," replied Cayman, as she took eggs and hash browns, as well as a cup of hot chocolate. "It's probably going to be a bit more overwhelming later on, but I think I'll be OK. I do miss my siblings a bit, thought."

"I'm sure you'll get to see them soon enough in some way."

The three made small talk for a little while, until they'd calmly finished breakfast; Cayman certainly appreciated that Boebette had made the effort to get to know them, unlike Kronos, their primary escort. Then, the escort checked her watch. "Oh, it's almost nine!" she exclaimed. "We have to go quite soon. Where's Dania?"

"I haven't seen her today," Cayman mulled. "Melvina?"

"Nope," she shrugged, taking another bite of eggs.

Boebette sighed. "Cayman, I've heard you're quite good with your siblings. I know Dania's now older than you, but can you help me out here and treat her like she's your little sister? Maybe it being her birthday will make her feel better."

Cayman nodded. She nodded to one of the servants that it was OK to take her plate, then got up and went into Dania's room.

"Dania?" she cooed as she knocked on the door. "How are you doing?"

"Go away!" Dania sobbed.

"Honey, come on. We're going to be moving in a little bit."

"Nrgh."

Cayman cracked open the door. She wasn't surprised to see Dania, still in her dress from the night before, sitting on the floor, sobbing, make-up running all over her face. "Oh, Dania!" Cayman exclaimed. She carefully sat down next to the other girl. "Are you OK?"

"I miss Kylis. I should never have broken up with her," she wailed.

"Honey, how could you have known?" Cayman attempted to comfort the other girl. "You're still alive, and so is she. And she could win! I know that she can. Maybe you can even sponsor her."

"Maybe."

Dania wasn't exactly having Cayman's attempt at comfort. So the other girl tried again. "Well, maybe this will cheer you up. Happy birthday!"

"What's a birthday without Kylis?"

"Dania. Shape up! You have a chance to radically change your family's life here. And being with Kylis would not only have ruined that chance, but also probably gotten you killed. I'm glad you two made up and that you love her, and that's all great, but now you have to refocus. Now come on. We need to leave."

Dania looked a bit stunned, like someone had knocked her out. After a moment, she allowed Cayman to help her change into the new dress and brush out her long, wavy, light brown hair; she washed her face and cleaned it of all of the makeup that was on it, carefully making sure that it no longer looked tear-stained. Then, the two joined Boebette and Melvina in the common room; they caught the end of another of Melvina's many tales of her previous lovers. "Oh good," exclaimed Boebette, mercifully cutting Melvina off. "Dania, do you need anything to eat?"

"I'm not super hungry," Dania replied.

"Why don't you take two rolls on the go? You might be hungry later." Dania reluctantly took two rolls and followed everyone else from her district into the elevator.

When they got to the bottom floor, they were ushered into the garage of sorts that the Chariots had come into just a week or so before. Waiting there was one of the hovercrafts used to collect bodies in the Arena. Cayman was certainly a bit spooked by it, but she dutifully followed Boebette onto the aircraft with the other two girls. As they approached the craft, they had their tracker bracelets from the night before scanned; Cayman had wondered why they hadn't been able to take them off the night before, but decided that this was certainly better than taking attendance.

Cayman surveyed her surroundings; unlike what she'd heard about the crafts for the Games, this one was fairly nice. The room in which the girls were sitting had long, leather benches that formed a sort of square, with ample room for the girls to sit; a smaller room in back was for the escorts. Cayman also noticed that the girls from Nine were the second-to-last district to arrive; the only one behind them was District Four, who came moments later, Thyra, Bonnie, and Ellis literally dragging Pacifica to the hovercraft. The girl from Nine rolled her eyes, then sat next to Phoebe; the much smaller girl gave her bigger friend a genuine smile.

After a few moments, during which Pacifica was forcibly belted down to a seat between her District partners, the hovercraft took off. Violet (whose presence the girls were quite used to) joined them in their room, after having given some instructions to the escorts in the other room.

"Hello, ladies," said Violet. "I hope you had a good night's sleep, and that you're energized to start the day! Before I do anything, let me give a warm happy birthday to Pacifica and to Dania! Happy birthday, girls!"

Right now, we're on the way to your permanent lodging for the remainder of your time here in the Capitol. When we get there, you'll be divided into four suites as follows: One, Two, and Four will be in room A, Three, Five, and Six will be in Room B, Seven, Eight, and Twelve will be in room C, and Nine, Ten, and Eleven in room D. Your secondary escorts will be living in the same suites as you are, just in different rooms. These assignments may change later on based on how many of you are left, but for now, that's where you'll be. Once you get there, you'll have some time to settle in and such, but for now, I have some important instructions and rules for you all, just to save everyone time.

"First of all, know that Garnet holds the key to the timetable for this whole thing. We don't know how long it will take for him to pick a wife, but we do hope that it will be between now and next year's Reaping. He will have final say in who stays and who goes, but when he says you go, you go.

"In order to make his decision, Garnet will be doing a mix of individual audiences and group events, meaning that sometimes you'll be one-on-one with him and sometimes it'll be in a small or large group, or even as a full group of everyone. When there is a planned audience with Garnet, we'd like to request that you dress nicely; you guys are the newest representatives of the President, and so we want you to be those positive representatives of us. This means a skirt or dress pants and a blouse, or a dress; we don't mean super fancy, just nice, you know?

"While you'll be spending most of your time in this house, you'll have some time outside of the house as well. When outside especially, but preferably inside as well, we expect you to have your trackers on, just to make sure that we always know where you are. Garnet may also choose to take you out on a trip, in which case you definitely need to have that tracker on. You'll also be spending some time learning about the inner workings of our country, and meeting the entire Emerald clan. Trust me, we're pretty darn big." Violet smiled, then checked her list again. "Are there any questions before I continue?"

Cayman raised her hand. "Are we allowed to sponsor tributes?" she asked, knowing that Dania wouldn't, but that she wanted to know.

"As representatives of the President, sponsoring a tribute may show bias; therefore, no, you are not allowed to sponsor tributes. If you are able to once you return home, you may. Maddi?"

"Are we allowed to go in each other's rooms?"

"Yes, you are. Each suite has a common room and some smaller rooms; you're definitely allowed in the common room of the suites, but please ask permission from those in the rooms before going into the smaller rooms. And the escort rooms specifically are off limits. There are also some larger common rooms, like the lounge from last night in the training center, and a dining room, as well as some smaller, more private rooms. Any other questions?

"OK. Some other information. Once you were Selected, your parents or relatives, if there are any, received notification and a suitcase. They were asked to pack up some of your favorite things that you'll be able to have here, in addition to your district tokens, because we know how long you may be away from your families. At a certain point, we may bring them here to see you, but we don't know what that point would be; obviously, they'll be given the opportunity to move here should you win.

"When your suitcases arrive, we're going to be giving you labels in your district color and with your initials on them; we think that none of you have the same initials, which makes things convenient, but by doing district colors, we'll be able to be super safe. Those labels should be on every single thing in your suitcases, in order to make sure that things don't get mixed up between your stuff and Capitol stuff, or between your stuff and other people's stuff. If you need help ironing labels onto clothing or sewing, feel free to ask your escorts or the other girls. I'd guess that Singer knows how to do these kinds of things."

Singer nodded. "I can certainly help," she offered, "but I'm much better at sewing than ironing."

"Thank you, Singer."

Suddenly, the hovercraft came to a stop. Violet touched her finger to her ear for a moment, then addressed the girls again. "It seems that Garnet has requested an audience with all of you together. Please get up and follow me into the dining room."

Cayman watched, amused, as Thyra and Bonnie unbuckled Pacifica and dragged her into the dining room; once they got into the dining room, Pacifica took off. The two gave Violet a desperate look. "Just let her go," Violet advised. "Garnet will figure out what to do with her; we'll get someone to guide her to her room."

Cayman noticed that the table in the dining room was large and round, with enough room for everyone to fit around it. The girls took seats around the table, and while the cliques, of sorts, from the night before still existed, they were starting to break down; it was amazing what one night of watching the Games could do to bring a group of girls together. Brooklyn was even brave enough to sit right next to Delilah; granted, the older girl wasn't the most intimidating of that year's Careers, but it was still of note that the youngest of the girls in the Games trusted a Career.

After a few moments of waiting and small talk, Garnet came in and joined the girls. "Hi, everyone!" he said. "I'm so happy to see you and get to know you over the next few weeks." He scanned the room. "Where's Pacifica?"

"She ran off," answered Bonnie sheepishly.

"All right, so she just won't be involved in this discussion," Garnet shrugged. "What we're about to talk about is very important, and I have to ask that, when you interact with people outside of this group of 27, please don't tell them anything about this. Can you all agree to that?" The girls nodded. "Good.

"Last week, I was discussing with my mother about the future of the Hunger Games. After a lengthy discussion, we realized that the current culture of the Capitol, as well as in Districts One, Two, and Four, is going to make it almost impossible to completely eradicate them; however, keeping the Games the way they've always been will undoubtedly antagonize everyone else. Being the traditional woman she is, my mother does not believe that it is possibly to come up with a compromise; however, being the young and open-minded person that I am, I believed that it is possible. So, my mom issued me a challenge: if I am able to come up with a compromise, she would allow there to be two Victors in this year's Games, not respective of district."

Garnet paused for a moment to let what he'd said sink in. He knew the importance of what he'd said, and what it meant for the people in the Games; suddenly, everyone would have double the odds of coming out alive.

"Clearly, it was of the utmost importance to figure out a solution to the problem. After discussing with some trusted advisors, and thinking very carefully about what I would propose, then dealing with an… interesting situation last night, I think I've come up with something that, admittedly, isn't perfect, but is the best possible solution. I want to propose the solution to you now and get your opinions on it; once we've modified, if we have to, I will present this to my mother, and hopefully she'll approve."

* * *

 **You didn't honestly think I'd tell you the solution yet, did you? Yeah, you'll find out eventually, but not yet. When the time is right.**

 **I wanted to take a second here to talk about some of the comments I've been getting on this story. First, I have to thank you for the general and positive support for this story. It's amazing to me that I have over 560 reviews, and that so many people are so engaged with and interested in it; my first story, Only Time Will Tell, had 50 or so chapters, but only 375 reviews, so the support here has been remarkable for me. But, I received a message from one submitter who was really hurt by certain comments regarding their characters and the focus on them in the story, which they regarded as hateful. I do recognize that they were more constructive criticism, and not intended to be hateful, and the characters' creator does as well. But, I wanted to remind you guys that every character in this story has a reason for being there and for getting the focus that is put on them when it is done. Certain characters will be coming into and out of focus, and while they might not all get a whole plotline, there is a reason that I choose to showcase certain plotlines in the course of the story. This plotline in particular is eventually going to further not only the story, but the whole universe; I have a method to my madness, you guys just don't know where these things are going yet. And trust me – you have no idea. It's gonna be crazy. For the most part. And I have the most interesting finale that you've ever seen planned out; I just don't have anything in the middle #whoops.**

 **Anyway, next chapter we move back into the Games. We'll see some interesting alliances form, some interesting deaths (remember, there are still 20 girls left), and some other interesting stuff! I honestly can't thank you all enough for everything, constructive criticism and all, and I can't wait for y'all to see what I have in story! (Get it? Cause store and also story. I'm punny.)**

 **Yours,**

 **Goldie031**

 **P.S. While I was working on uploading this chapter I almost lost it and may have had a legit heart attack.**


	40. Games, Day 2: Searching and Finding

**Two quick reminders:**

 **First, please vote on the poll on my profile!**

 **Secondly, remember that if you'd like to sponsor a tribute, please PM me.**

 **On to Games Day 2!**

* * *

 _Eloise LaBelle, 16, District Ten_

 _Location: Lower Hallway, First Floor, Next to Main Doors of the Castle_

* * *

The first thing Eloise did when she woke up was take stock of what she had.

She was glad that nobody had found her and killed her while she was asleep; now, she had to make sure she still had all of her supplies before she went to find her alliance.

"I have a package for Eloise LaBelle," said a voice, startling Eloise out of her counting. She turned around, ready to lasso the assailant, but calmed down when she saw that it was just a butler with a package on a silver platter. She took the package gingerly, then opened it up to find a day's supply of food in it; it was packaged nicely, too, so that it could keep longer.

"Thank you to whoever sent this to me," she said, addressing the cameras that she knew existed somewhere. "I really appreciate it."

Once she had repacked her bag, she decided to leave the package from the sponsor gift aside and start moving. It was important for her to start thinking about her next move. She'd spent the night in a room just to the side of the main doors, but now she had two different options: stay in the castle, or leave and see what was happening outside. Eloise figured that it would make more sense to stay inside. While outside was appealing, and she did like fresh air, she didn't know what to expect outside; she was certainly the type of person to prefer the devils she knew, being all of the other tributes, to the devils she didn't. So, she decided to wander around the floor she was on to see if she could find her allies.

If there was one thing Eloise wasn't great at, it was measuring distances, but she knew there was no way that the sides of what she presumed was a square were less than half a mile long. They were probably longer, as evidenced by the pain in her calves from walking so much. She made it through a side and a half, all the way to the lower right hand corner then up to the upper right hand corner, or so before deciding to follow the lower right diagonal hallway to the center. When she got there, she noticed a body sleeping across the room, wrapped in a blanket; while she would have liked to take out a competitor, the only weapon she had was a lasso, and that didn't work quite so well when the opponent wasn't standing or awake.

Plus, her conscience was making the whole killing thing a bit hard at that point. She didn't need to defend herself.

As she looked up from the sleeping figure, she noticed flashes of pink between the rungs of the third-floor balcony. Her heart leapt; that had to be either Cheyenne or Peach, if not both! While she wasn't entirely thrilled with allying with someone as easily agitable as Peach, those two were certainly Eloise's best bet.

Now, all she had to do was get to the third-floor balcony.

Eloise left the throne room again and followed her path back down the diagonal hallway toward the lower right hand corner. She glared at the stairs; they looked pretty steep, and she had to go up two whole floors.

But what other choice did she have? Her allies were up there.

* * *

 _Lavender Aroma, 12, District One_

 _Location: Upper Right Hand Corner, Second Floor_

* * *

"We have to find the other Careers, don't we?" Lavender said, bouncing with energy as she and Carissa slowly woke up.

"I think that would be useful," Carissa suggested. "You know that the more allies we know we have, the better it is for us."

"I know. But I'm much more comfortable with just you. Arieyn honestly worries me."

Carissa helped Lavender divide up their supplies between their two packs; as the smaller one, Lavender would be taking less food and water, but all of their weapons, which basically consisted of Carissa's sword and her knives. The two decided to move across, towards the upper left hand corner.

After a good amount of walking, they made it all the way across the floor to the upper left hand corner. Suddenly, Carissa paused for a moment. "Someone is down that diagonal hallway," she said.

Lavender peeked down the hallway, trying to keep herself invisible from the other tribute. Sure enough, Carissa was right. Lavender clearly caught sight of Nyx Mynier coming out of the hallway and moving towards them.

"Come on, Lav! Get the weapons out!" Carissa urged. "Do you want the kill, or can I take it?"

"Hold on, Carissa," Lavender cautioned. "Let's talk about whether or not to kill her first."

Carissa cocked her head. Why as this little girl, who had been so excited at one point about killing, suddenly hesitant?

"Listen. What do you think about using Nyx as a scout? We can easily intimidate her into doing it."

"What use do we have for a scout?"

"Hear me out," explained the little girl. "We don't know who is where in this Arena. Imagine if we could send Nyx out to scope areas; even if we don't get to kill, we're not dead if an on-edge Vixyn decides to throw an axe, or there's a wacky mutt, ya know? Plus, she got an 8 in training. Clearly she has some sort of weapon skills."

Carissa thought for a moment. "Not a bad idea. How are we gonna get her to do that, thought?"

"Let me do the mind games," Lavender said. Suddenly, she jumped out into the diagonal hallway. "Freeze, Nyx!" she exclaimed. "You should know that I am quite skilled with throwing knives."

Lavender wasn't skilled with throwing knives. She couldn't throw knives nearly as well as she could stab with them. But Nyx didn't need to know that.

Lavender slowly approached Nyx, who had turned to face the Career, pickaxe in hand. "I'm fully prepared for a fight, little one."

"Now, now, Nyx. Don't jump to conclusions. I don't want to fight. In fact, I have another proposal for you."

Nyx cocked her head. "Continue."

"Carissa and I want an outer-district ally. Someone who doesn't look like they're a Career, but seems to be quite dangerous. And who can scout out various areas of the Arena for us. We think you're the perfect person to do so."

"And what if I say no?"

"I have knives. She has a heavy sword. You've got a pickaxe."

Lavender paused to let Nyx weigh her options. Eventually, as she expected, Nyx agreed. But the little girl could sense the trepidation in Nyx's response; she would certainly have to be careful of Nyx, and never let her guard at night.

Lavender and Nyx returned to the corner and met up with Carissa; the three decided to go down the left-hand hallway to the lower left hand corner to begin looking for the other Careers. The walk was long and taxing, so the girls decided to break for lunch. There was still a bit of a divide in the alliance, though; Nyx took some food from her pack, while the other two shared some from Carissa's.

After they'd finished resting, a butler came up to the girls. "I have a package for Lavender Aroma." Lavender eagerly took the package from the butler, and opened it; she was admittedly a bit disappointed to find just one knife in there, albeit thrilled with its lavender handle. But then, as she took out the red velvet padding, she noticed a little slit between the bottom of the box and its side. She tried to keep the smile on her face as small as she could; with all of the craziness of this year's Games, it was just like the Gamemakers to throw in a twist like this.

Shielding the box from her allies – she'd surely show whatever was in the bottom of the box to Carissa eventually, but she didn't want Nyx to know about it – Lavender pried the false bottom off, finding that it was just a sheet of opaque plastic. She carefully pulled out the two thick sheets of paper and shoved them in her pocket. "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back. Don't kill each other," she announced, before going into the closest room she could find.

The grin she'd been holding in broke out suddenly. Lavender unfolded the sheets and quickly skimmed them. The first was less interesting to her; it was just the floor plan of the castle. All she could see was a box with an X in the middle, meeting in a large rectangle. But the second piece of paper was the real treasure.

Lavender was sure that she was now the only tribute who had a list of all 24 people in the Games.

* * *

All activity in the Games Headquarters stopped as the mentors gathered around Tyranny Bomber's screen. As they watched Lavender extract the false bottom of her sponsor gift box, and pull out the map of the arena and list of tributes, they realized how crucial it was to get sponsor gifts to their tributes. Without thinking, they jumped into action, only to find out that the sponsor system had been temporarily shut down.

Suddenly, they heard Amethyst Emerald's voice pipe into the room. "Good afternoon, mentors. Clearly, you have discovered our little secret. For the record, every sponsor gift to every tribute will have the false bottom. But, we have shut down the sponsor gift system to give you some things to think about before you do something rash.

"First of all, you are not allowed to give the tributes any hint as to the location of the map and tribute list. This is something that, should they discover it, they should do so by themselves. This brings me to a few questions to keep in mind. Are you willing to send your tributes sponsor gifts now, instead of saving the money for later? Are you OK with sending them for the purpose of giving them information they'll never find? And how important is it for them to know the information on those pages?

"We will be reenabling the sponsor system in five minutes. Good luck, mentors, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

The loudspeaker clicked off, leaving the mentors silent and thinking. After a moment, they instinctively grouped up, some by district and some by the alliance in which their tributes could be found, to figure out what to do about the latest curveball.

The mentors from One, Two, and Four decided not to do anything. After all, a Career had the information, and it would surely be shared with the others eventually. Additionally, Gloss had assured the other Career mentors that One would shortly be sending a crucial sponsor gift to Arieyn; he trusted her to look for a false botttom, giving the list to the Upper Pack as well

The mentors from Three, Seven, Ten, and Twelve decided to wait it out as well. Katniss saw that Nyx had allied with Lavender and Carissa, and hoped that they'd either share the list with her at some point or leave it out accidentally, allowing her to look at it. The Three mentors didn't want to use their sponsor funds quite yet. They wanted to send it to Pix – Mu had just gotten a sponsor gift, and they wanted to punish Drew, so to speak, for leaving his allies in the dust – but didn't have enough in her sponsor fund, and they didn't want to use money from the District fund yet. Plus, Mu had left the box from her gift next to her; maybe Pix would look inside of it. Alvin McCarthy, Freida's mentor from Seven, also didn't want to use his sponsor money for Freida just yet, especially as she seemed to be pretty set with her axe, and the Ten mentors decided that their tributes didn't need the information enough, not to mention that they didn't think anyone was actually smart enough to look in the bottom.

So that left the mentors from Six, Eight, and Nine. The main concern for those districts was the alliance between Weave, Kylis, and Elysia; Ferrari was with Careers, and therefore fairly safe, and Tistera, per the Eight mentors, wasn't getting anything until she actually started moving.

"I think we have to give them something," suggested Sarah Sheaf from Nine. "If they spend their whole Games looking for Dania, they'll never get anywhere."

"But we also don't want to break up that alliance," cautioned Rose Web from Eight; though Cecelia was technically Weave's mentor, she was also Tistera's mentor, and so Rose had volunteered to help take a bit of a load off of the older woman. "For us, Kylis's presence is crucial for Weave and Elysia; those two wouldn't stand a chance without that stronger girl."

Sydnee nodded in agreement. "I don't think Kylis would stick with this group if they find out that Dania isn't in the Arena. Though, we can't stop you if you want to send something to Kylis"

Sarah was a bit stuck. It was just her goal to get Kylis to split off from the other two; though she understood the value of allies, these were not the allies she wanted Kylis to have. "But here's my other issue. We don't have a lot of sponsor money; we don't have a general district fund because it's only Kylis, and she doesn't have much anyway. I can't afford to give her something now. I do think, though that it would be valuable to try to get the girls the information."

"So how about this," suggested Cecelia, the voice of reason as a mom and grandma; though she too didn't want to break up the alliance, she knew how important it was for mentors with tributes in an alliance to be on the same page. "We have a bit of extra money in the Eight fund, and Tistera isn't getting anything until she moves out of that little room. So let's send a gift to Weave, just something small, and maybe she'll check under the false bottom. If she doesn't, there's only so much we can do."

The three mentors looked at each other and nodded; they didn't really have a better plan.

* * *

 _Elysia Hall, 15, District Six_

 _Location: Lower Hallway, First Floor_

* * *

The three girls set on finding Dania had been walking at a fairly remarkable pace; since they'd woken up, they'd made it around the entire ground floor of the castle more than once, eventually finding themselves next to the main doors. Now, though, they needed a break, and took some time to pause next to the doors of the castle to eat and drink a little bit.

"I have this sinking feeling that we're not going to find Dania," said Weave, taking a packet of jerky out of her bag and opening it up. "I think we should refocus on something else."

"Come on!" urged Kylis. "We have to find her. I'm sure she's in the Arena somewhere."

Elysia sighed. They'd already covered so much ground, and she was out of breath and stamina from walking so much; plus, she didn't think that Dania was anywhere to be found anywhere. But, she also didn't want to fight with Kylis (or Weave, or get involved in the conversation at all), so she decided to hold her tongue and watch things play out.

"Weave, we haven't looked outside of the castle at all yet. Let's do some searching around there. If we do it thoroughly and find that she's not there, we can give up, but I'm not willing to give up on my girlfriend yet."

"Fine," groaned Weave. "Let's take another few moments to eat and rest, and then we'll get moving."

Kylis let off the gas a little bit and relaxed, glad to have gotten someone else on her side. The girls quickly ate their lunch and took a little bit of time to digest before packing their packs up again and moving out the doors.

As Kylis and Weave pushed one of the doors open, Elysia got the sense that there was someone behind them. She turned around and saw a butler, who said, "I have a package for Weave Flasherett."

"Weave!" called Elysia. The girl from Eight stopped pushing, turned around, and approached the butler, not wanting to anger it in case it was a mutt. Elysia watched as Weave opened the box on the butler's tray and surveyed its contents.

"Six potatoes and eight loaves of bread," Weave said. "Clearly, both of our mentors have faith in us." She took off her pack and extracted a bag, put the potatoes and bread in it, and put it back in her pack. "Thank you," she said to the butler, before motioning to Elysia to follow her out the doors.

* * *

 _Freida Muller, 15, District Seven_

 _Location: Third Floor, Upper Right Hand Corner_

* * *

Freida was getting anxious. She wasn't thrilled with being in the Games at all – she really hated their existence in the first place, and certainly disliked the circumstances that had brought her into the Games – but now that she was there, she needed to get out.

After all, you couldn't take down the Capitol if you were dead.

Freida had been pretty content stationed where she was for a while; after all, the room was comfortable, and it was in close proximity to the room into which Nanami and Blaze had ducked into the night before. It wasn't that Freida had anything in particular against Nanami; this was the Games, and one had to kill to stay alive. Freida had been so close to killing Nanami once before, and she'd lost the opportunity. Now, with the element of surprise on her side, she might be able to finally cement herself as a legit competitor in the Games. Someone who the Careers would never see coming.

Freida inched along the wall, axe in hand, towards the door behind which her targets lurched. She knew that she would only have one shot, realistically, to knock them out, and she had to use it correctly. Freida steadied her axe in her right hand and grabbed the door handle in her right. She took a deep breath, centering herself and preparing to move.

In one swift motion, Freida opened the door and threw the axe right at Nanami. The axe made contact with its target's head, and it was just a few seconds later that her cannon went off.

BOOM!

As Freida looked at the other girls in the room, she realized that she didn't recognize the redhead; at first glance, she looked like Vixyn, but her eyes were grey, not bluish, and her wrist didn't have the scars that Vixyn's did. While Freida had only intended to kill Nanami, she would have been willing to make other kills in the room; though Ferrari was a pressing target, this mutt was a much bigger issue.

"Ferrari, that's a mutt!" Freida exclaimed. "Why are you with it?"

"It's not a mutt, it's Blaze. She explained to us that she replaced Creddi."

It was smart of the Gamemakers to send in fake tributes with them, as there was no way for the girls to know what had actually happened. While the mutt might make a good ally, Freida figured that, as it was a creation of the Gamemakers, it was probably really dangerous. And clearly, both Ferrari and Nanami were gullible enough to fall for it, which certainly didn't speak to Nanami's skill as a Career.

Freida grabbed the axe again from Nanami's body and threw it at the mutt. As it fell, rather than let the blood just drain out from it, she ran to it, grabbed the axe again, and stabbed the mutt multiple times. Once she was satisfied, she turned around, ready to attack Ferrari, only to find that she had disappeared.

BOOM!

Freida turned around again. _Oops,_ she thought. _I guess Ferrari was telling the truth._ She quickly went through Nanami and the other girl's packs before leaving to find her next target.

Now it was Ferrari who had escaped from her. Naturally, she couldn't let her get away.

* * *

 _Pix Drexel, 17, District Three_

 _Location: Upper Hallway, First Floor_

* * *

Pix had spent the whole day searching the castle for her allies. She had started on the third floor and worked her way around, then made her way around the second floor before going around the first floor as well. Finally, she resolved to check the last place she hadn't checked, the great hall. It was getting late, and she needed to go to sleep soon; she figured she'd check all of the hallways again the next day.

When she entered the throne room, she noticed a figure, covered in a blanket, along the wall. Pix immediately checked on them, and found, to her delight, that it was Mu!

"Mu," she cooed, waking up the other tribute. "Mu." Mu stirred a little bit. "Come on," continued Pix, "it's time to get up."

After a few minutes, Mu finally opened her eyes. They looked exhausted and totally dazed. "Oh, hi Pix."

"Hi there. How long were you out for?"

"I dunno. I saw the anthem where Drenaline died, but nothing else."

"Oh, so it was like a full day, then?"

"No. I woke up in the middle of the night. I think that someone killed Drew."

"Did his cannon wake you up?" asked Pix. "Nothing woke me up last night."

"I didn't hear a cannon either. But I saw a hovercraft leaving, and I also saw someone else running away. So I'm guessing someone killed him. He was with me last night."

"Don't think much of it. Let's eat a little bit, and then we'll watch the anthem and go to bed."

The two girls split some of the food that was in Pix's pack, then caught each other up about the other things that had happened that day and the day before. They were eventually startled out of their thoughts by the anthem. Mu instinctively grabbed Pix's hand; both girls knew the bad news that was coming, but they wanted each other's support when they saw it.

The first face they showed was Creddi Grant's face from One. That didn't surprise either girl; Creddi was notorious even among the outer district tributes for her inability to do anything. The second face was that of Nanami Cascade from Four. Pix and Mu were less surprised that Nanami died than they were about Drew not having died.

"So what happened to Drew then? What was the hovercraft about?" asked Pix. Before she could finish her thought, though, and before the two could figure it out, the girls found themselves getting quite sleepy. Within moments, they were out; when they woke up, neither would remember exactly what happened during the previous few days

* * *

 _Other Important Things We Didn't See:_

 _-The Upper Career Pack began their day by moving towards the lower right hand corner of the second floor; they would eventually go down to the first floor, and would never meet up with the Middle Pack._

 _-CJ, still posing as Drew, wandered around in the woods surrounding the castle. She eventually found the only water source in the whole forest, and stayed there for the whole day._

 _-Ferrari found a safe room in which to spend the night on the second floor, deliberately trying to stay away from Freida._

 _-When Tistera left her room, she found herself in the lower right hand corner; her indecision kicked in, and being unable to decide which of the three hallways to go down, she went back into her room and stayed there through the second night._

 _-Eloise joined Peach and Cheyenne on the third-floor balcony; the girls recapped what had happened to them and who they'd seen, then made a loop around the third floor before calling it a night._

* * *

 _Kills:_

 _Arieyn Occisor (D1): Incredible Grant (D1) (Not Officially Listed as a Kill)_

 _Ravi Waterford (D1): Narcissa Wilder (D11), Amaryllis Horne (D11)_

 _Carissa Lovarre (D2): Silver Flower (D8)_

 _Vixyn Kearne (D2): Drenaline Fisher (D6)_

 _Freida Muller (D7): Blaze Donohue (D1), Nanami Cascade (D4)_

* * *

 _Alliances:_

 _The Careers (Still Can't Find Each Other!): A_ _rieyn, Ravi, Lavender (D1); Carissa, Vixyn (D2)_

 _-The Middle Pack, now The Lower Pack, AKA The Backup Plans: Lavender (D1); Carissa (D2); Nyx (D12)_

 _-The Upper Pack: Arieyn, Ravi (D1); Vixyn (D2)_

 _The Gender-Benders:_ _Muire, Pix (D3)_

 _#KeepLookingForDania:_ _Elysia (D6), Weave (D8), Kylis (D9)_

 _District Ten :_ _Peach, Cheyenne, Eloise_

 _Loners:_ _Ferrari (D), Freida (D7), Tistera (D8)_

* * *

 _Locations of the Tributes at the End of Day Two:_

 _CJ Laurent, Posing as Drew Voltas: By the Water Source in the Woods_

 _#FindDania (Elysia, Weave, Kylis): The Woods Outside of the Castle_

 _The Gender-Benders (Mu, Pix): Great Hall Complex, First Floor_

 _Upper Pack (Arieyn, Ravi, Vixyn): Upper Right Corner, First Floor_

 _Middle Pack (Carissa, Lavender) + Nyx: Upper Left Corner, Second Floor_

 _Ferrari Benz: Left Hallway, Second Floor_

 _Tistera Leone: Lower Right Corner, Second Floor_

 _Freida Muller: Upper Hallway, Third Floor_

 _District Ten (Cheyenne, Peach, Eloise): Balcony of Great Hall, Third Floor_

* * *

 **Eulogies:**

 **20** **th** **Place: Nanami Cascade, District Four, Killed by Freida Muller**

 **Oh my Nanami. She was the tribute that I debated about the most, but eventually chose to put her here; I'm still not sure if I made the right choice or not. She was such a good big sister whose only crime was trying to stay alive. Most reviewers were fairly neutral on her, but I liked her and her heart; she was likely not gonna win, especially after she pissed off Freida. Rest in peace, Nanami; I'm sorry about your loss, Misty, but I hope you keep reading to the end!**

 **{Family Fact: Nanami's best friend Jordan would come to help the Cascade family grieve and survive; he would eventually fall in love with Nanami's younger brother, Sebastian, and the two would get married. Her parents would allow their kids to stay in training longer, in the hope that, if the same thing happened to them, they wouldn't die.}**

 **19** **th** **Place: Blaze Donohue, District One, Killed by Freida Muller**

 **Poor Blaze! She really got the short end of the stick here. She got forced into the Games last minute, for no reason than Creddi's lack of intelligence and her inability to connect to Garnet. I certainly enjoyed writing for such a complex tribute, though it was hard to fit so much about her in in such a short period of time, but I hope I did her justice, Celtic. Thank you, Blaze, for being such a strong woman, and I hope you'll find supportive, loving people with whom you can surround yourself in Heaven.**

 **{Family Fact: Blaze's mother was absolutely heartbroken after her daughter's death. She never thought she'd be able to recover. However, two weeks after the end of the Games, she found a baby at her doorstep with the same red hair and grey eyes that Blaze had. She took him in and cared for him through adulthood, naming him Phoenix.}**

* * *

 **So there is our jam-packed Day 2 of the Games! A reminder, in the "weird story plot twists category," that the other tributes don't know Creddi died, so that's why her face showed up instead of Blaze's; the audience in the Capitol and the District saw Blaze.**

 **We've now hit our third check-in! I have different check-in questions based on where your tribute is now; you only need to check in if you still have a tribute alive and relevant (meaning not Drew or the Capitol girls). If you have a Games tribute, please send me their willingness to kill and whether their instinct is more fight or more flight. If you have a Selection contestant, please send me three or more objects that would likely be in their suitcase from home.**

 **What did you think of the chapter? Was Lavender's move of bringing Nyx in smart? What do you think of Amethyst's questions to the mentors, as well as their reactions? Did Freida's reaction to Blaze make sense, and does she have a chance to win? What's gonna happen to Mu and Pix? You'll just have to wait and find out the actual answers to some of these questions.**

 **This was definitely a fun chapter to write. I'm going to try to map out some more of the Games this weekend so I have a sense of what's happening, and then keep pushing on to Day 3!**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you all for your continued support!**

 **-goldie031**


	41. Games, Day 3: Deaths and Gifts

_The Hunger Games are not completely action packed; it isn't like things can be manufactured to happen at every moment of every day, as much as the Gamemakers would like to do so. Therefore, nothing of note happened on Day 3 before lunchtime. We rejoin our tributes right after lunch._

* * *

 _Tistera Leone, 18, District Eight_

 _Location: Lower Right Corner, Second Floor_

* * *

Making decisions was not Tistera's strong suit.

As she stood in the middle of her room for the third consecutive day, she couldn't help but feel like she had to get moving; after all, to her dismay and frustration, there was nothing the Gamemakers disliked more than inaction. On the other hand, there were so many ways to go – down the one hallway, or the second, or the third, or down the stairs, or up the stairs – and every time she went out of her room, she freaked out and went back in.

But today, she would do it.

Tistera steeled her resolve, packed up her pack, and left her room; she didn't exactly have a weapon to use per se, but she had her mind and wit, determination, and inner drive. Well, she did have a large stick. But there was only so much one could do with a big stick. Her parents had told her when she was younger that an important thing to do was speak softly and carry a big stick. She wasn't great at the speak softly part, but carrying a big stick was easy enough.

As she looked around, she again became overwhelmed by her options. But when she turned around and tried to go into her room again, she found that the door was locked.

 _Damn it,_ she thought. _I never should've left the room._

Frantically, Tistera looked around for another door, but none of the ones around her opened. Clearly, the Gamemakers were trying to tell her something: that she should move to a different room. A different floor was undoubtedly the best bet; that way, the Gamemakers couldn't complain about her not doing something.

Tistera decided to move down to the first floor; once she got there, finding herself in the lower right hand corner. She glanced up the right-hand hallway and caught a flash of bright red hair; that, paired with two short black haircuts, told her that she was in the path of the Careers.

And they had just caught sight of her.

Tistera turned to the nearest door and jiggled it; again, it was locked. When she moved over to the next door, she heard the first one unlock. She immediately went back to the first door, but it was locked again.

 _So the Gamemakers are playing with me,_ she said. _I guess I'm gonna have to fight._

Tistera returned to where she could see the Careers and prepared for battle, big stick in hand. Unfortunately for her, she wouldn't even get the chance to whack one of them.

Because a little dart, no bigger than her thumb, lodged itself right in her neck.

Tistera immediately felt faint. She dropped her stick and slumped down on the wall. Her eyelids were drooping, and despite putting every last little bit of effort she could, she couldn't seem to maintain consciousness at all.

 _I never should have left my room._

BOOM!

* * *

 _Nyx Mynier, 16, District Twelve_

 _Location: Upper Left Corner, Second Floor_

* * *

 _Day Two of this alliance and I'm not dead yet,_ thought Nyx as she sat, fiddling with her top, as Lavender and Carissa discussed their next move. She still wasn't sure whether she'd made the right choice to ally with the Careers; at least she had her trusty pick-axe, and she was certainly ready to run at a moment's notice.

Plus, if there was any alliance with whom one could be safe, it would be the Careers.

Granted, there still was a divide in the alliance; whenever they ate, it was still Nyx eating from her stuff and Carissa and Lavender sharing. And it was clear that the two Career girls knew something that Nyx didn't. But, for the time being, that wasn't her biggest concern.

"Hey Nyx," Lavender said, "can you do some scouting for us?"

"Where?"

"We want to get a sense of what's outside of the castle. We don't know if there are things that are actually useful, and we figured you'd be a good person to check. We'll try to make headway in here and meet up in a few days."

Nyx was a bit confused; they'd just allied! Why would they be trying to get rid of her so soon?

But did she really want to argue with the Careers?

"Sure. That sounds good."

"Great. We'll try to stay on the second floor of the castle if we can; once you've gotten a good sense of the outside world, you can let us know." Nyx nodded, grabbed her pack, headed downstairs, and left the castle.

As she walked out onto the grass, she carefully inhaled the scent of fresh air that she got so infrequently in Twelve. There was something refreshing in the smell of trees and grass and sky that she really wasn't used to smelling, but she certainly enjoyed it.

Nyx decided to make her way straight forward until she hit trees, then make her way in a circle until she found her way back to that point; then, she'd return to the castle and report back to the Careers. And maybe this would take a while, but who cared? The other two could fend for themselves.

Going about three feet deep into the woods, Nyx took out her pickaxe and marked the tree in front of which she stood with her initials, "NM." Then, she began to travel clockwise along the circle. She got about a quarter-mile around the circle before she took a break to drink and breathe.

While she was resting against a tree, she noticed a little silver parachute floating down. The day before, when Lavender had gotten a sponsor gift, a butler had delivered; Nyx figured that, because she was out of the castle, she was getting it in the normal way. But, she noticed that the package was heavily padded; that meant something extremely delicate was inside.

And that was a good sign.

As Nyx carefully opened the package, she found, to her delight, that it contained exactly what she needed to make one or two decently powerful bombs.

Her first thought was to blow up the castle. That would certainly take out a lot of tributes, and definitely increase her odds. But then, she shook away her fantasies. There was no way that the materials she had could make a bomb that would make even the slightest dent on that castle. Plus, the Gamemakers would want to control if the castle came down. So that was out of her hands.

But, a bomb placed correctly next to a tree, or thrown at a tribute, could certainly cause some damage.

One thing was for sure. With those materials in her hands, her odds had just suddenly shot up.

* * *

 _Carina-Jean "CJ" Laurent, 17, Capitol_

 _Posing as Drew Voltas, 16, District Three_

 _Location: By the Water Source in the Woods_

* * *

After being in the woods for almost a day and a half, CJ had come to two definite conclusions.

First of all, there didn't seem to be any food sources at all in the forest. CJ certainly hadn't traversed the whole thing, but from the sample size she'd seen, there was nothing.

And secondly, she really wasn't a huge fan of roughing it in the woods.

But that was beside the point. Living in the woods was certainly what she needed to do to avoid the other tributes, and she needed to live to get back to helping Alexios. She decided she needed to move; hopefully, she'd find her way back to the water later on.

As she wandered around, she got the feeling that she was being followed. But, every time CJ turned around, she was surprised to discover that there was nothing there.

 _One, two, three,_ counted CJ, trying to keep track of which way she was going, but she found it hopeless. She'd made so many turns as she was trying to get somewhere – anywhere – who knew where? She just needed to keep moving.

After some time, she stopped moving and took a seat; she had plenty of water from the little pond next to which she was previously sitting, so while she didn't want to drink it all, she definitely had enough to have a few little sips and that point as she was taking a breath. She felt calm and relaxed; it was kind of nice to be here in the woods, birds chirping overhead. As she watched the birds flit in the woods, they even seemed to be getting closer.

And closer.

And closer.

And coming right at her.

CJ scrambled to her feet and pulled out Drew's trident, desperately trying to fend off the birds, but it was too late. They took her to the ground and pecked at her, their sharp beaks aiming for every soft spot in her body. As they cut her skin time after time, blood pouring out of CJ's body, she became increasingly frustrated.

Frustrated because she couldn't save herself.

Frustrated because she wouldn't be able to go back and help Alexios take down the Capitol.

And most importantly, frustrated because she knew that the Capitol had a hand in her death. After all, it was the Gamemakers and the Capitol that controlled the mutts.

Blood kept pouring out of CJ's body. And her eyes closed for the last time.

BOOM!

* * *

 _Varinia Jonet, 18, Capitol_

* * *

As Varinia watched the birds peck Drew to death, she couldn't help but shield her eyes. She certainly didn't agree with his decision to leave his allies, but she identified with him from the little time they spent together. They were both transgender, and had had a really nice conversation the night of the interviews. It was remarkable to Varinia that she could find someone so similar to her from somewhere pretty far away.

Varinia couldn't bear to watch more of the Games for the time being; she'd never hated them, and she probably wouldn't hate them even after this, but it was certainly upsetting to her that Drew had died. She'd never before understood what the people of the districts felt during the Games, so maybe this wasn't a bad thing for her capacity to empathize.

After maybe half an hour of avoiding the television and recuperating, she finally worked up the courage to return to the television. But before she could sit down comfortably, the doorbell rang.

"I GOT IT!" yelled Varinia; as she opened the door, she was surprised to find a purple-robed woman from the government next to a boy whom she, oddly, kind of recognized. It couldn't be Drew, but it sure looked like him; the boy in front of her had the same black hair and dark brown eyes, but a wider nose and wider hips, less defined color bones, higher cheekbones, and lighter skin.

It definitely wasn't Drew.

"Are your parents home?" asked the woman.

"I think so," replied Varinia. "Would you like me to get them?"

"Yes, please."

Varinia ran back in and searched for her mother and father; eventually, she found them in their room, her mother working on a design for her next tribute and her father just kind of there. Viridian worked as a plastic surgeon, but during Games season, everyone was so focused on the Games that he got some time off. And Varinia cherished every second of it.

"Mom, Dad, there's a woman from the government here to see you."

"Did you invite her in?"

"No." Varinia blushed.

Varinia's mother Vivia immediately jumped up and ran to greet the woman at the door. "It's polite to invite someone in when they come to visit instead of waiting outside."

"Whoops."

"Hello, madam," said Vivia. "Please, come in." She led the woman and the boy to the dining room, where all five people sat around the table.

"I come here on behalf of the government to ask you a very important question. We can understand why you wouldn't listen to us, but we really would appreciate it if you would be able to help us out.

"This is Andrew Chaff, and he is from District Nine. Due to his intelligence and aptitude, Andrew was recently selected as a Gamemaker's Apprentice, meaning that he will be shadowing the Gamemakers and learning how to become one, but he can't begin that process of the apprenticeship until after the Games, so he needs a home. We know that you guys have a very strong connection to the Games, and that you are fairly well off, and so we're hoping that you would be able to take Andrew in."

Vivia and Viridian looked at each other. "Can we discuss what exactly this entails with you, and without the kids?" asked Vivia, giving her daughter a look. Varinia nodded and escorted the boy into another room.

"Your house is so big," marveled Andrew. "It must be nice to live in such comfort."

"Yeah, I suppose so." The two fell silent. "So, tell me a little about yourself," suggested Varinia, attempting to diffuse the tension and awkwardness.

"Well, I'm transgender," admitted Andrew. "I've been trying to figure out my gender identity for a while, but seeing Drew Voltas in the Games helped me to solidify that I am trans."

"Is that why you chose the name Andrew?"

"Yeah, it is. He helped me in so many ways to find myself."

"You know you look a lot like Drew," insinuated Varinia.

"I've heard that."

"And how did you end up here?"

Andrew admitted, "I saw you in the Games and saw that you were transgender, and felt a connection to you. So when they said that I'd be living in the Capitol, I requested you."

They fell silent again. Varinia began to process the thing she'd heard from and about Andrew; Drew might have been dead, but the signs certainly seemed to indicate otherwise. They might have been from different Districts, but they looked incredibly similar and had the same name. What were the odds that he would magically show up at her house right after Drew died? And why did she feel the same butterflies in her stomach when she looked at him as when she looked at Drew?

What was going on?

More importantly, did she want to know what was going on?

If it seemed that she was onto something, she could lose this chance at being with Drew (if it was Drew.) More importantly, it could lead to strong retaliation from the Capitol, and she could lose the family and friends with whom she was close.

So while she was curious about the situation, and while she wanted to know more, asking for more information wasn't worth the risk.

After a few moments, Varinia's parents came into the room, along with the Capitol woman. "Andrew, we're happy to say that you'll be staying here with the Jonet family," the woman said. "If you have any problems or concerns, Mr. and Mrs. Jonet have instructions of how to put you in touch with someone to help you out. Thank you again," the woman addressed the parents, "and good luck."

The woman left, and a smile crept onto Varinia's face. She had a new friend, a new person with whom she felt a connection, and maybe, hopefully, a boyfriend.

* * *

 _Kylis Divola, 18, District Nine_

 _Location: The Woods Outside of the Castle_

* * *

Kylis was kind of losing steam. But she knew she couldn't afford to give up hope. Dania could still be out there, and they could still find her. The Arena was pretty big, so it might just be a wild goose chase type of thing until they found her.

"Can we stop for the night?" asked Weave. "It's been like two full days that we've been hunting for her. I don't want to give up, necessarily, but I can't keep going right now."

"That sounds fine. Let's take a break for now, and we'll pick this up again in the morning."

The girls sat down next to a tree and set up camp again. Not thirty seconds later, a sponsor package came down from the sky. Weave went over to take a look at the package. "It's for you, Elysia," she proclaimed.

Kylis watched carefully as Elysia opened the package. Inside of it were some rolls, a thermos full of soup, and three water bottles. Elysia smiled and held up a bottle of water to each ally; Kylis gratefully took one from her ally's hand and drank a few sips of water.

The girls decided to eat Elysia's rolls and soup for dinner, as well as some of the jerky from their bags. "I'm gonna go see if I can find a water source," Kylis said. "Do you want me to take any water bottles?"

"Sure," Weave replied, holding hers out to Kylis. The girl from Nine took Weave's bottle and her own pack and headed out, leaving her water bottle behind.

After a little while, she noticed a tiny little parachute come down from the sky. In it was a single roll. "Thanks, Sarah," she snarked. "This is super helpful." She took the roll out of the bag and began to nibble on it.

Then, a second, equally tiny parachute fell.

And then a third.

 _OK, clearly Sarah's trying to send me a message,_ thought Kylis. _Maybe I'm going in the right direction and I'm close to the water._ Kylis kept walking, careful to collect the parachutes as she found them. After maybe a mile of walking, she had ten tiny parachutes, each with either a roll or a little piece of cheese in them, but no water. Clearly, she wasn't thinking right.

Maybe it had to do with the packages.

Kylis sat down and laid out all of the little boxes she'd gotten from Sarah. She picked one up and turned it around, looking at all of the sides to try to see what Sarah clearly saw. Finally, she caught a glimpse of a tiny, tiny crack between the side of the box and its bottom. Kylis didn't have long nails, so it was hard for her to stick her finger in the crack to pry the bottom off, but she eventually succeeded.

As she unfolded the papers she found, Kylis slipped the map into her pack and eagerly scanned the tribute list. She immediately registered the one thing that she wanted to know: Dania wasn't in the Arena with her.

Kylis had mixed emotions about the knowledge she'd just attained. On the one hand, it meant that her plan had worked: Dania was safe, and could go back home. The sad part was that she might never see her girlfriend again.

She hoped they were still girlfriends.

Kylis looked at the other nine boxes; she wondered if the information was in every box. Sure enough, she found a copy of the map and the list in every box sent to her by Sarah. That was certainly a good barter tool; she could try to prevent someone from killing her by offering valuable information.

Now the question was, should she go back to the other girls? It was definitely good to have allies. But, now that there was no thread tying them together, it didn't really make sense to stay with them. They would only drag her down.

Could she really desert them, though? Weave and Elysia had not shot without a strong ally like her.

But these were the Hunger Games. You couldn't think about anyone but yourself.

And what they didn't know couldn't hurt them.

Kylis packed up her backpack with all of the lists and maps and set out. She almost tripped, however, over one last box. Kylis carefully opened it and pulled out another list and a map, then left the eleven boxes behind for good.

* * *

 _Arieyn Occisor, 17, District One_

 _Location: Upper Right Corner, First Floor_

* * *

Arieyn was pretty satisfied with her day.

Sure, there'd only been two kills. But one was hers, and she'd gotten a big stick out of it! Plus, she was another two steps closer to bringing glory to One.

Though she knew that two other girls from One were thinking the same thing.

After a day of hunting with oddly little success, she, Vixyn, and Ravi returned to their room from the previous night. They had something to eat, then Vixyn settled in to the bed to sleep while Arieyn and Ravi set out to organize the girls' packs.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door of the room. Arieyn grabbed her blowgun and loaded it, then opened the door; luckily, she didn't shoot the butler standing right in front of her. "I have packages for Arieyn Occisor and Ravi Waterford," he said. Ravi joined Arieyn at the door, and the girls took their packages from the butler before closing the door again.

"You open yours first, Ravi," Arieyn urged.

Ravi shrugged. She opened her box and pulled out a vest and a note. "Wow, this is complicated," Ravi muttered, carefully reading the note. "This is such an oddly specific protective vest. Like it says what it will and won't protect against, and to what degree. There's no way I'm gonna remember all of this. I'll just keep the note in my pack. Your turn!"

Arieyn knew exactly what was in her sponsor package; she opened the box and took out a small jar of white powder. "Careful with this, Ravi. This is very poisonous stuff."

"Is that what you were building immunity to?"

"Yeah, but I'm a bit wary of using it."

"But you're immune."

Arieyn sighed. Ravi could sense that she was debating what to tell her, but the two were allied; how badly could it go?

"The thing with this stuff," Arieyn explained reluctantly, "is that it only works as an immunity builder for a certain length of time, and you lose a little bit of immunity every day after you take it. So I was slowly building up to a certain level of immunity by the Games (but you can't skip a dose in the process), and I knew how much I could handle every day after that. It doesn't work. Then Creddi went and drank a dose, and everything happened so quickly that I was never told how much I was immune to, as in how much I took in that last dose, and by how much it goes down every day. So yeah, I have immunity, but I have no idea how much I'm immune to."

Ravi was confused. "So why is that a problem?"

"Poison is a finnicky weapon," Arieyn replied. "If things go wrong with it, you die."

"But isn't that the same for any weapon?"

"It's way harder to accidentally fatally stab yourself with a knife than it is to accidentally take too much poison. One gram too many and you're screwed."

Ravi nodded. "Now I just know not to drink anything from your water."

"If I need too, I could still stab you with a knife. But we don't have to worry about that yet."

* * *

 _No other important events happened on Day 3. The alliances of Districts Three and Ten remained in the same location throughout the day, while Freida and Ferrari wandered aimlessly around their respective floors without killing anyone before returning to their rooms from the previous night._

* * *

 _Kills:_

 _Arieyn Occisor (D1): Tistera Leone (D8), Incredible Grant (D1) (Not Officially Listed as a Kill)_

 _Ravi Waterford (D1): Amaryllis Horne (D11), Narcissa Wilder (D11)_

 _Vixyn Kearne (D2): Drenaline Fisher (D6)_

 _Carissa Lovarre (D2): Silver Flower (D8)_

 _Frieda Muller (D7): Blaze Donohue (D1), Nanami Cascade (D4)_

 _Mutts: Drew Voltas (D3), Carina-Jean Laurent (C) (Not Officially Listed as a Kill)_

* * *

 _Alliances:_

 _Will the Careers Ever Reunite?:_ _Arieyn, Ravi, Lavender (D1); Carissa, Vixyn (D2)_

 _-The Lower/Middle/Whatever Pack or The Backup Plans: Lavender (D1), Carissa (D2), Nyx (D12)_

 _*-What is Her Status?: Nyx (D12)_

 _-The Upper Pack: Arieyn, Ravi (D1), Vixyn (D2)_

 _The Gender-Benders, or District Three:_ _Muire, Pix_

 _What They Don't Know Can't Hurt Them:_ _Elysia (D6), Weave (D8)_

 _District Ten:_ _Peach, Cheyenne, Eloise_

 _Loners:_ _Ferrari (D6), Frieda (D7), Tistera (D8), Kylis (D9)_

* * *

 _Locations of the Tributes at the End of Day Three:_

 _What They Don't Know Can't Hurt Them (Elysia, Weave): The Woods Outside of the Castle_

 _Kylis: The Woods Outside of the Castle_

 _Nyx: The Woods Outside of the Castle_

 _The Gender-Benders (Mu, Pix): Great Hall Complex, First Floor_

 _Upper Pack (Arieyn, Ravi, Vixyn): Upper Right Corner, First Floor_

 _Middle Pack (Lavender, Carissa): Upper Left Corner, Second Floor_

 _Ferrari Benz: Left Hallway, Second Floor_

 _Freida Muller: Upper Hallway, Third Floor_

 _District Ten (Cheyenne, Eloise, Peach): Balcony of Great Hall, Third Floor_

* * *

 **Eulogies**

 **18** **th** **Place: Tistera Leone, District Eight, Killed by Arieyn**

 **Tistera was an interesting tribute for me to write. She came out swinging, and people really liked her, but I couldn't figure out what to do with her during the Games. I feel bad that I didn't show much of her, but in a lot of ways, this story works similarly to how I see the Capitol broadcasts going; I focus on the interesting stuff and gloss over the less interesting stuff. Not that Tistera as a person isn't interesting, but they'd be focusing on the action I talked about in the past few chapters (with the exception of the Mu/Drew/CJ mess of a chapter). I did enjoy writing Tistera, though, for what I did, and I think she was one of the strongest-minded girls out of the Career districts; I'm sorry that I couldn't figure out how to write more of her. Thanks, TranscendentElvenRanger for her, and I hope you'll continue to read!**

 **{Family Fact: Honestly, not much changed in her family. Tistera's relationship with her great-aunt and cousins was already strained, so it was just one less mouth to feed.}**

 **(Unrecorded) 17** **th** **Place: Carina-Jean "CJ" Laurent, Capitol, Killed by Mutts**

 **Trust me when I say that CJ plays a really important role in this universe, but you guys don't know how yet. That's why I actually asked Mik for her, because I knew with Honey and Drew and their switching-places shenanigans, I would be able to advance this verse much more easily than I could have without her. She was never gonna win – no way Ruby would let her win – but she was such a fun character to write for, and I'm so glad I got that opportunity. Thanks, Mik, for this commission, and know that she's in a better and safer place now.**

 **{Family Fact: CJ's parents were never told why CJ died; they only found out that she died in prison, and they would spread the rumor that she died of the medical issues that put her in quarantine. They learned that, with future groups of test tube babies, they needed to help guide them a little more before letting them go out into the world. CJ was just considered another sample in the experiment.}**

 **(Recorded) 17** **th** **Place: Drew Voltas, District Three, Recorded as Dead but Actually with Varinia's Family**

 **Once I saw that I had Drew and Varinia, and CJ came into play, I knew that I wanted this to be the close of Drew's arc. DON'T YOU JUST SHIP HIM AND VARINIA SO HARD?! I know this storyline was convoluted and unusual at times, and felt like favoritism, but as I said with CJ, there is a major role for it later on in the universe and it'll help me advance things. Thanks, Mik, for Drew; you did kind of lose two tributes in one chapter, but you still have Honey to root for, so good luck with her in the Selection!**

 **{Family Fact: Drew's parents mourned the loss of their child, though his mother still recognized him as Sugar and not Drew. They would receive CJ's body as Drew's and bury her in the tribute graveyard, thankful that they still had their Honey, and would continue to tell her over the rest of her life to "Be more like Sugar." Meanwhile, Honey would be granted specific times to visit Drew (obviously with Capitol supervision), but continued to try to emulate his braver qualities through the rest of her life.)**

* * *

 **That was a crazy chapter if I've ever written one! We saw two deaths, alliances shift and dissolve, and what I think is the perfect close to an arc. I hope you guys enjoyed this convoluted chapter, and that it got you guys thinking about the next one?**

 **Should Nyx desert the Middle/Lower Pack? How should she use her bombs? Did Kylis make the right call? Did Sarah (Kylis's mentor) follow the rules laid out by Amethyst or not? Should Arieyn use her poison?**

 **The next two chapters will be one Selection and one Games, but I haven't decided the order yet; I had a plan and then the plan changed. So we'll see!**

 **Thank you all for your continuous support!**

 **-goldie031**


	42. Selection: The Suitcases

**Please remember to PM me if you want to sponsor a tribute. On to the chapter!**

* * *

It was the fourth day of the Games. And things had settled into an odd state of normalcy in the Selection House.

All of the girls (except Pacifica, because Pacifica never showed her face to anyone unless she was dragged out of her room) spent the bulk of their time in the largest common room. The TV in there was always showing the Games, because the girls were concerned for their friends and District partners; being in the Capitol, they didn't have to watch the Games, but they couldn't bear to not watch them.

Within the room, the cliques had begun to break down a little bit. The Career girls (except Pacifica) spent much of their time right in front of the TV; of any of the other girls, Danira or Nadina were most likely to be next to them. Dania was also always in front of the TV, with a rotating cast of supporters around her. Mostly, it was Cayman and Melvina, but Phoebe, Cayman's ally, took her turn, as well as a decent subset of the large outer district alliance of Khara, Lennox, Pandora, Singer, Danira, and Euodia. Honey had also been spending a good amount of time in front of the TV; after her brother died, she returned to her room, but eventually returned to the group for their support, which they gladly gave, and she'd gotten over her grief remarkably well. Not wanting to be left out of the fun, the younger girls spent their time in the common room as well, but a bit separated from the older girls, often braiding each other's hair and trying not to get too much in the way of the older girls. They understood the grief and fear the older girls were feeling – after all, they saw it every year in their districts – but weren't old enough to feel or fear it in nearly the same way.

Along with watching the Games, many of the girls read to pass the time. Delilah and Janari bonded over their love of studying, and while science wasn't Delilah's favorite, she pored over medical books with her friend, who was now in a perfect position to become a doctor. Bellona, Bonnie, and Thyra enjoyed swimming, and Pandora enjoyed excersizing. And then there were the creative ones. Elizah, Maddi, and Millicent loved to draw, Melvina to write, and Singer loved to tat doilies; she was even teaching Erin how to do so. There were a fair share of musical tributes too – Bonnie could play piano, Elizah loved to sing, and Phoebe could play multiple instruments. The girls had been promised a musical night at some point, and they were all looking forward to it.

But the biggest phenomenon for the girls was making lanyards.

Erin, the wealthiest of the younger girls, was a bit on the outs with her alliance, but became very popular when she taught her friends how to make lanyards. They'd asked for a large supply of lanyard to use, and Violet obliged. Now, the younger girls were pros, and their colorful creations had caught the eyes of the older girls, who recognized it as a good way to keep their hands busy while watching the Games. It was only a matter of time before everyone would be creating the plastic contraptions, leading them to encounter the age-old question: what can one do with all of those stupid lanyards?

Thankfully for the girls, the answer to that question would have to wait.

* * *

 _Douria Hovello, 14, District Twelve_

* * *

"Good morning, Rain and Maddi!" Douria said, opening the door to their suite to the pair from Eleven. "Did Millicent want you to do her hair, Rain?"

"Yep," Rain replied.

"Here, let's go into her room. I was just about to wake her up."

In District Twelve, there were two pairs of parallel relationships. Douria felt a maternal instinct towards Millicent, and the younger girl certainly appreciated having a motherly figure to help her navigate the Captiol. Along those lines, Brooklyn looked to Brietta as a mother, and the elder girl certainly enjoyed having a younger follower as well. While there was interaction between the pairs, the Seam/Merchant division still held true even in the Capitol, and so the two pairs were more likely to stay by themselves when not interacting with other girls.

Douria knocked on Millicent's door, then cracked open. "Good morning, Millicent. Rain's here to do your hair."

Millicent sat up and stretched out. "I'm ready, Rain!" she exclaimed.

"So why don't you sit in front of me on the floor? Good. Fishtail braid?"

"Is that the one you did yesterday that made all the pretty ripples in my hair?"

"Yes."

"So yes."

"Did your mom ever braid your hair before?" said Rain, carefully parting the younger girl's hair.

"She died when I was really little, but I bet she did back then," explained Millicent.

"How bout your dad?"

"Daddy's always sick. So is my big sister. So nope, nobody's ever done this before. It's kinda nice."

The girls fell silent again.

"You do sound a lot better, Millicent," remarked Douria, attempting to diffuse the tension.

Millicent smiled her shy smile. "Yeah, I needed to rest and to not overwork myself like I do at home. I have to say, being Reaped may have been the best thing that ever happened to me."

"I think we all could say that in some way or another," Rain smiled.

Douria watched as Rain deftly maneuvered her fingers through Millicent's hair, moving small sections of hair over one side to the other. Because hers was both shorter and curlier, not to mention darker, than Millicent's, it was harder to braid. But she was happy to watch Rain braid the younger girl's hair and to live vicariously through her.

When Rain was about three-quarters of the way done with Millicent's hair, they heard a knock at the door. The three girls turned towards Elizah, who peeked in and said excitedly, "The suitcases are here!"

Without hesitation, Rain dropped Millicent's hair, and the three girls ran into the main common room to find 26 of the same suitcases, only differentiated by color, waiting for them. Some of the girls had already taken their suitcases and were rummaging through them, excited to see the items their parents and families had sent.

Douria found her bag and sat down next to her little friend as the two opened their suitcases. "What'd you get?" she asked Millicent.

"A rock, a wildflower, and a note," replied Millicent. "How about yours?"

"My dad sent me my favorite yellow jacket, a picture of me and Mara in the meadow during the winter, and a romance novel that was my mom's."

Douria noticed Millicent's face fall. It seemed that her family hadn't put a lot of thought into what they gave their daughter.

"Did they give you anything else?"

"No. But Dad and Maggie are almost always sick, so I'm not surprised that they couldn't get me stuff."

Something didn't add up in Douria's mind. If her family was always sick, how could they go outside to get the rock and wildflower for Millicent? And one would think they'd send her a favorite object or article of clothing; even the poorest families in the Seam had some form of family heirloom they could send to their kids. Plus, they'd almost lost their daughter; Douria figured they'd take more time to think about what to send to her. Something didn't add up with Millicent's family, and Douria wanted to figure it out.

And hopefully, she could keep Millicent safe and healthy in the process.

* * *

 _Bellona Terminus, 17, District Two_

* * *

Bellona and Janari were intently watching the Games when chaos broke loose in the common room. They were so intently focused on the Games that they hadn't noticed the suitcases from home come in until everyone ran in to find out what their parents had sent. But Belle was hesitant to open hers; she knew her family was well-meaning, but didn't want to hear what they had to say.

"Here, Bellona," said Delilah. She passed a suitcase over to Bellona. "Let's open them together!"

"Meh," shrugged Bellona.

"What could be so bad?"

Bellona sighed. "Being Enobaria's granddaughter means being pressured to go into the Games. And that's what I've been trained for. You know I'm not super into that. I don't know what my family's reaction was when I got picked, and I'm worried about seeing it."

"I'll be here to support you through it," smiled Delilah. "Let's do this."

The two girls opened their suitcases. Bellona watched as Delilah pulled out a framed family photo, a music player, and some textbooks. "I want to keep up with my studies," Delilah explained. "I think everything else is clothes. What's in yours?"

Bellona opened her bag. On top were two envelopes, but the suitcase was filled with workout clothes and a few swimsuits. She didn't mind that; while she didn't like the idea of training for murder, she did genuinely enjoy exercising and other physical activity. But, her suspicions of why she was sent workout clothes were confirmed when she opened the first envelope. It contained letters from her family expressing condolences that Bellona had been Selected rather than allowing her to go into the Games, and urged her to convince Garnet to send her home early so that she could train to Volunteer for the next year's Games, assuming she could. She immediately tore each letter in half, planning to burn them later. The second envelope, however, contained just what she needed to read. It was fromHylla, her best friend who was once the only person who knew how she truly felt about the Games. Hylla sentcongratulations, and encouraged her friend to compete for Garnet's love to whichever degree she felt fit. It was exactly what Bellona needed to hear: someone telling her that she was doing the right thing.

* * *

Garnet knocked on the door to his mother's office. He wanted to check in on the status of his plan and confirm some details about the Selection, and figured that it was a good idea to be taking an active role in the Selection and in the things about which he was passionate as opposed to a passive role.

"Come in," said Ruby, looking up from her papers. "Oh, hi, honey! I was actually just going to find you. I have good news! Your proposal for the Games passed."

Garnet sighed a huge sigh of relief. He wished that he could save more lives than just one extra, but to be able to double the odds of each tribute surviving meant a lot to him. And he understood why the Games couldn't be eradicated; that's why his plan was brilliant. "Thanks so much, Mom! When do we tell the nation?"

"Around the Victory tour or when the Quell announcement would be, probably. But we'll announce the rule change separately from that, obviously; either way, I don't want it to look like they're associated. I've been working with Amethyst on how to make the best TV out of this, and we have a good plan. Now, how is your Selection stuff going?"

Garnet nodded. "Well. I don't want to make too many changes during the Games. They're all nervous about their friends and I don't want to shift their focus too much. Plus, I don't know how much I'll be able to focus on picking someone during the Games."

"Are you going to make any cuts?"

"One big one at the end of this week, and then a while until the next one. But, I have a feeling that this whole Selection thing is gonna take a while, maybe until next year's Games."

Ruby's eyes narrowed. "Why?" she said, using the tone of voice at which mothers are experts.

"I just don't have a sense of how long it'll take me to choose. Plus, I have a few people who I want to keep around until Reaping Day of next year for certain reasons of my own."

"Well, I don't know about that. We'll see how this goes. At least I know that things are gonna go slowly for the time being; that's good for my knowledge. I have to go talk to Amethyst about tonight's broadcast. I'll see you at home tonight, Garnet. I love you." Ruby gave her son a quick kiss in the cheek and dashed out.

Garnet turned around to leave as well before running into his mother again. "I forgot something," she added. "We have to talk a bit about procedure."

"Procedure?" asked Garnet, as he took a seat in one of the chairs in his mother's office.

"Yes," replied Ruby, "procedure. Because this is a Games-related event, the girls have to place and they can't tie. What that essentially means is that you need to develop a procedure for eliminating a large group of girls in a certain order, one by one, so they don't tie."

"Why?"

"Because procedural things are important. It's how we run our country, and if you're in charge, you have to follow procedure. This is good practice." _And because of bettors,_ thought Ruby, but Garnet doesn't need to know that.

Garnet thought for a moment. "Maybe by age? So youngest to oldest?"

"If you're fine with it, I'm fine. Just make a decision by the time you make that big cut. Now I actually have to go. Bye." And he ran off.

Garnet was used to his mother being stressed during the Games; it was the time of year during which she was under the most national scrutiny, other than the Victory tour, and ensuring her legacy during the Games was crucial. So he could excuse her stress; he was just glad that she'd taken the time to clear his plan.

And at least one tribute would be glad about it too.

* * *

 _Rain Peterson, 14, District Eleven_

* * *

There was something quite calming about having things from home. Sure, Rain had a necklace that her mother had given her when she was six, but that was one thing; it was hardly comforting in the same way that this suitcase was. In addition to some clothing, it contained her favorite book series, a picture of her, Summer, and the other two siblings, and a rock lamp from home. She didn't know why she liked the rock lamp, but it was quite comforting for her to have. It called to her, if it was possible for a rock to do so.

"Five minutes!" called Danira, loud enough that the girls in all of the suites could hear. Rain put down her rock lamp and headed out to the main common area to join the other girls to watch the mandatory night showing of the Games. She found herself sitting next to Maddi, as expected, on one side, and the elusive Pacifica on the other. Rain was kind of shocked to see the Career out of her natural habitat, and also, admittedly, a bit nervous; there was nobody about whom she was more nervous than Pacifica, not even Bellona.

After a few moments, the faces of Harli and Dorian graced the TV, just as Khara slid in, hair still wet after a shower. "Good evening, Panem," said Harli, "and welcome to the recap of the Fourth Day of the Games! I'm Harli Saleman."

"And I'm Dorian Muir. I've gotta be honest with you, Harli. I don't know how we're gonna recap the Games today. So much happened!"

Harli rolled her eyes. "For those of you who didn't watch, Dorian is being completely facetious. There were no deaths, no major alliance shifts, and generally very little action in the Games today."

"But that's not unprecedented," interjected Dorian. "It's a proven statistic that a tribute is least likely to die on Day 4. It seems to be the quintessential day for recuperation and reorienting oneself before advancing in the competition. So let's start today's recap by checking out the odds board, something we don't often get to do. Then we'll go through the alliances again, and we have a special announcement later tonight."

"That's right, Dorian! Now remember, we can't predict the future, but based on each tribute's performance in the Games, their training score, and their sponsor fund, plus their district's sponsor fund, we can get a pretty good idea of their odds."

Rain wasn't particularly interested in the odds of winning or not winning, especially as she wasn't particularly invested in anyone left in the Games. But, she was interested to hear how the Games were analyzed from that perspective, as it wasn't something

"So to nobody's surprise, I'd presume, the tribute on top of the odds board is Vixyn Kearne of District Two. It's rare that a non-Career tops the board this early, but in a game with this many Careers, I'm sure it was a question of who it would be. With a training score of Ten, Vixyn has the highest score of anyone alive in the Games, and it's no secret that her twin double-bladed battle axes are extremely dangerous, though she only has one kill. She sits comfortably at two-to-one."

"Next," continued Harli, "we have a three-way tie at five-to-one: Arieyn Occisor, Ravi Waterford, and Carissa Lovarre. These three girls are responsible for half of the deaths in these Games between them, but each of them has one noticeable thing that puts them under Carissa. While Arieyn and Ravi both got a nine in training, their weapons aren't as traditional as Vixyn's. Additionally, they each have their own respective risks. Poison, when used incorrectly, is incredibly dangerous for the user, while Ravi's resistance to using any weapon other than a staff is not effective against, say, swords."

"Incidentally, Carissa's weapon is swords," Dorian interjected. "However, her training score of eight is the lowest of the Careers, not counting Lavender, but more on her in a moment. She clearly has much less training than the other Career girls, and while she has a strong ally, just doesn't seem to have quite as much of a shot as some of the other girls."

"Next is the first Outer District tribute on our leader board, Frieda Muller, with solid odds at seven to one. Freida has proven herself as a potential Victor, taking out two Careers. But, they were the two with the least chance of winning of the Careers, so we'll have to see how that plays out. Plus, Outer District tributes who do well at the beginning sometimes get too full of themselves and bite off more than they can chew, which could be dangerous with the strength of these Careers."

"Tied at odds of nine to one are Lavender Aroma from One and Nyx Heyton from Twelve, our two backup tributes. Lavender's odds would be higher if she were older, partly because her score would undoubtedly be higher and partly because she'd be stronger and more prepared for the Games. Twelve-year-olds have won in the past, but in untraditional ways, and there has never been a tribute from a Career district this young, so we just don't know how well she'll do, lowering her odds. Nyx hasn't proved herself in quite the same way that Freida has, but now that she has explosives along with her pickaxe, she's a force to be reckoned with."

"Kylis is next up at twelve to one odds. While she may not be the strongest tribute, she may have the strongest motivation: returning home to her girlfriend, Dania. Leaving her alliance of Weave and Elysia might have been her smartest move, as they were really weighing her down."

"That's right!" exclaimed Dania. "Twelve to one are good odds for an outer district tribute. Come on Kylis! You've got this!"

"Let's look at the rest of the odds board. Eloise and Ferrari are tied at 16 to one, then come Cheyenne and Pix at 25:1. Peach has 35:1, weighed down by her inability to get sponsors, then Mu and Weave tied at 50:1, and, lastly, Elysia at 150:1. Nothing too surprising anywhere in those odds, right, Harli?"

"Yeah," Harli said. "I mean, maybe I would have Mu lower, or not have Cheyenne and Pix tied, but I think those are generally accurate."

"Now, a reminder on alliances. Arieyn, Ravi, Vixyn, Carissa, and Lavender are allied, but the former three still can't find the latter two. They're literally running around each other, but seem to be repelled as if they have magnets attached to them. Weave and Elysia are together, as are the surviving girls from Three and Ten. That leaves Kylis, Freida, and Ferrari alone, and Nyx in an awkward, semi-allied position with Carissa and Lavender.

"But I'm sure you are all interested in the big announcement we have. Harli, would you like to do the honors?"

"I would love to. Per instruction from the President and the Gamemakers, this year there will be two Victors of the Hunger Games. However, this information will not be shared with the tributes, so they won't know until the end that two will survive."

The girls in the Selection tuned out the rest of the broadcast; they couldn't even remember by the next day when it ended. After all, their conversation two days before with Garnet had totally clued them into the reason for this change. Rain knew that Janari and Dania were especially excited; after all, the odds of the survival of those to whom they were closest had doubled. But Rain was nervous; when she locked eyes with Lennox from across the room, she knew the girl from Ten was feeling the same way.

Because, under the new Games proposed by (and now enacted thanks to) Garnet, Rain and Lennox were the only two Selection girls who would still be eligible for the Games.

* * *

 **This chapter is pretty overdue for me, and I apologize about that; I am on the regional board of my youth group, and we've had a crazy week this week. Hopefully, I'll get next chapter up faster.**

 **Hopefully, this clears up why we're not going to see a ton of the Selection girls between now and when the Games end. Not much is gonna happen with them, and I've known that for a while, but we'll see a lot of them after the Games. So don't worry, you'll get your fill of our lovely ladies. Just not yet. Have patience and faith in your writer :)** **.**

 **Anyway, what did you think about the chapter? Not a ton of major plot development here, but we did get some fun stuff. Whose items in their suitcase did you like? Does Douria have reason to be concerned about Millicent? I threw you guys a major bone about Garnet's new structure of the Games – what could it be?**

 **Thank you all for your support. I'll start working on next chapter soon – it'll be Games, so brace yourself! And check out the new poll on my profile!**

 **-goldie031**


	43. Games, Day 5: Divisions

**Please check out the poll on my profile and PM me to sponsor tributes. On to the chapter!**

* * *

"Good morning, Mu," Pix said, shaking her companion awake. "We have to move a little bit today. The Gamemakers don't like it when we stay in the same place for too long. And we've been in the Great Hall for quite a few days."

"But I'm still kinda tired. I don't know why; I'm not usually constantly tired like this," Mu replied, turning over again and curling up in their blanket.

Jones and Linus, the two mentors from Three, were beside themselves. And not in a good way. They had a feeling that there was some Gamemaker-triggered sleep gas that was triggered like a mutt, and while it hadn't affected Pix, clearly Mu was seriously affected. While Jones was technically Pix's mentor and Linus was Mu's, and the two of them didn't get along, with their tributes allied they'd need to work together to bring one of them home.

"What do we have in sponsor gift funds?" Jones asked, anxiously flipping through a database of gifts.

"Not much for Mu because we set that blanket," Linus said, "but it's OK to send something small to Pix."

"OK." Jones paused for a second. "What's that thing that's a natural repellant for the main sleep gas? I think that's what they used."

Linus thought for a second. "I think it's basil and pine nuts," he said slowly. "Individually, they work well, but they're best together. But what has both basil and pine nuts in it?"

On cue, Cecelia walked into the room. "Hey, Jasper," she addressed the mentor for District One; though neither had tributes, they were both still involved with the mentors from their district who were working to keep their tributes alive. "Did you want some simple recipes you can make for Hali?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," he smiled. "I want to learn to cook so I can be a good dad for her."

"Well, I have some more back home in Eight, but the one I always have with me is my Pesto Pasta. The pesto is super easy – basil, pine nuts, a bit of olive oil…"

Linus and Jones turned to each other. "Pesto Pasta!" they exclaimed. Quickly, Jones, as Pix's mentor, sent his tribute a container full of pesto pasta with a note that instructed her to eat it immediately, and that the pasta should be divided between her and Mu. Then, they anxiously watched the screen that showed their tributes, hoping that it would work.

A few moments later, a butler delivered the package to Pix. The mentors watched as she opened it, read the note, then counted the number of noodles and divided them exactly evenly between her and Mu. "That's what a computer would do," Jones scoffed. "When you say to divide something between two people, it divides that thing in half exactly." They continued to observe as Pix essentially force-fed the pasta to Mu.

Luckily, after a few moments, Mu began to become conscious again. "How long was I asleep?" they asked.

"You've been up and down for like four days now. But I'm glad you're feeling better. Are you ready to move?"

"Sure. Let's go upstairs."

Pix and Mu packed up their bags and made their way out of the Great Hall for the first time since the beginning of the Games. Their mentors breathed a sigh of relief. "Neither found the list of tributes," Jones mused, "but at least they're on the move."

"Remind me later to thank Cecelia for her recipe for pesto pasta."

* * *

 _Cheyenne Davanzo, 17, District Ten_

 _Location: Balcony of Great Hall, Third Floor_

* * *

A little rumbling shook the District Ten girls out of their morning routine. It was troubling; this was not something that anyone wanted to hear during the Games. Not that they wanted to be in the Games in the first place.

"I think we need to get moving," Eloise announced to her alliance mates as the rumbling subsided. "It would be a bad idea to stay here much longer."

"Why, though?" Peach asked. "We're totally content here. There is no reason to move at all."

"Well," retorted Eloise, "we all know the Gamemakers can't stand it when tributes stay stagnant. We really haven't done much these Games, so I think we should move around a bit, you know?"

"Well," Peach replied, "I don't think we should be concerned about what the Gamemakers think. They've forced us into this, so we shouldn't have to contend with them about anything."

Cheyenne was simply exhausted. Since Eloise had found their alliance, it had been non-stop arguing between her and Peach. And it was not something that Cheyenne was thrilled about.

Now, that wasn't to say that Cheyenne was totally innocent and that she never argued. That was to be expected when you took a southern spitfire, someone with a tendency to be bossy, and a punk and put them in the same alliance. But, as Cheyenne had thought when the idea was presented, she didn't really have any other choice but to ally with the others of her district. She figured that they'd be associated with each other no matter what they did, and so it would be to her benefit to ally with them and figure it out later.

She was now regretting that choice. If the alliance couldn't make a decision, how would they ever survive?

"Cheyenne, what do you think?" asked Eloise?

"Make the right choice," grunted Peach.

Cheyenne exasperatedly put her head in her hands. There was no winning in this case; if she chose to stay, she'd anger Eloise, and if she chose to leave, she'd frustrate Peach. No matter what she said, it would cause a further rift in her alliance.

With no right outcome, she had to take on the key Games mentality: do what is best for oneself.

"I think we need to move," said Cheyenne. "It's a bit annoying, because we need to pack, but it'll make us safer in the eyes of the Gamemakers, because we will actually have done something."

"Good!"

"Fine."

As the girls silently gathered up their packs, Cheyenne had a sinking feeling that the District Ten alliance wouldn't be lasting much longer.

* * *

 _Lavender Aroma, 12, District One_

 _Location: Upper Left Corner, Second Floor_

* * *

It was quite disappointing to Lavender that, on the fifth day of the Games, she hadn't been able to decapitate anybody yet. Even worse, she had not yet had any kills. The little girl was bouncing off the walls, anxious to do something already!

Suddenly, they heard that morning's rumbling again. It was a bit stronger, granted, but still didn't seem too concerning.

Yet.

But Lavender wasn't one for waiting for things to get worse. It was time to figure things out now! "Hey Carissa, when can we keep moving? Make more kills? Get things done?"

"Patience, Lavender," urged the older girl. "There's still a lot of Games left to be played."

"But if we act more quickly, we can get home sooner! We haven't done all that much in a few days!"

Carissa sighed. "OK, Lavender. We'll do a bit of looking. But I'm not interested in searching so hard. Let's have lunch first, though."

Suddenly, a butler came up to the girls. "I have a package for Lavender Aroma," he said.

Lavender smiled, carefully taking the box from the butler and shooing him away. She was thrilled to have yet another sponsor gift under her belt, but she was especially excited about what lay beneath the gift itself. That wasn't to say that she was unhappy about what she received; a full Japanese bento box, complete with lavender sushi, was perfect. But having two lists rather than one would definitely be a benefit for the girls.

"Hey, Carissa, come over here. I have something for you."

Carissa stopped pulling some food out of her bag and went over to Lavender. "What do you have?"

"Watch." Carefully, Lavender pried the false bottom out of the box. She pulled out the two pieces of paper and gave them to Carissa. "Be very careful with these. Put into the wrong hands, they could put us in a lot of danger.

Lavender watched the grin grow on Carissa's face as the older girl registered what she saw. "Having a list of tributes is so helpful!" she exclaimed.

"I know. This way, we can keep tabs on whose faces are shown and who we kill, and we can be a more effective team." Lavender unfolded her list again. This time, though, something was a bit weird. The names on the list were… a bit blurry. That was the only way to describe it. Maybe the problem was that the Gamemakers were engineering the list so that it would slowly blur. "Can you read this?" she asked Carissa, showing her the list she held.

"Yeah, clearly. Why?"

"It's much less clear for me than it was when I first saw this list a few days ago."

Carissa's brow furrowed. "Well, maybe you need glasses."

Lavender groaned. Glasses were such a hindrance for Careers.

* * *

 _Freida Muller, 15, District Seven_

 _Location: Upper Right Hand Corner, Third Floor_

* * *

Freida was on a mission.

She had clearly proven herself to be a strong contender for the Games, presuming herself the only one who had any kills as a non-Career. And she'd gotten out two Careers! (Though, granted, she was a bit confused as to who she'd killed; a cannon had gone off when she'd gotten the redhead, but Creddi's face showed in the sky. Either way, she was sure it was two Careers; what else could it be?) At this stage, there was nothing that she couldn't do. And that included taking out a bigger threat.

After all, if people like Arieyn, Ravi, and Vixyn were out of the picture, there was no way she could lose.

Freida had been on the third floor for a few days, but hadn't seen any Careers. She figured they'd all moved down to the first floor; they could have easily gone to the second floor, but something in her told her that she should go all the way down first and then work her way up. She checked her axe, cleaned a bit of the blood off of the dress she was still keeping in her bag, packed up, and prepared for battle.

Freida didn't want to move quickly down the stairs, for fear of giving herself away, so she carefully slunk down the spiraling stairwell. She carefully glanced into the hallways on the second floor but, not seeing anyone else, continued down the stairs. Admittedly, Freida was a bit upset when she saw that there was also nobody on the first floor, but quickly regrouped; with the number of doors on the floor, there had to be someone in one of them.

Carefully, Freida slunk along the wall, listening closely for voices. Three doors down the right hallway on the first floor, she finally heard muffled sounds.

The time had come to act.

Steeling her will and steadying her axe, Freida again utilized the element of surprise. She flung the door open and sank her axe into the head of the closest girl. She pulled the axe out and slammed it into the same girl's back, to ensure her death. She wasn't even sure who she hit, but she felt a huge puff of confidence that she'd managed to get another kill.

As the girl slumped to the ground, however, the possibility that she'd made a mistake crossed her mind, as she had to bend down to retrieve it. Freida tried to do so quickly, but she'd lodged the axe into the girl's back so well that it was unusually difficult to retrieve it. She attempted to pull it out, but suddenly, she felt something lodge itself in her back.

There was a certain irony in a girl from Seven being killed by an axe.

* * *

 _Vixyn Kearne, 18, District Two_

 _Location: Right Hallway, First Floor_

* * *

"That was good, quick thinking, Vixyn," Arieyn said. "Thank you for acting there; I was admittedly a bit worried that, if I'd pulled out one of my darts, I would have gone too quickly and swallowed it."

"It… it was nothing," Vixyn stuttered.

"Are you OK?" asked Arieyn.

"Yeah. I'm… I'm fine."

Vixyn was a bit shaken up. It wasn't that she wasn't prepared to kill – she'd already gotten Drenaline with no effort, after all. The problem was that she hadn't expected to have to kill in defense this early. How had Frieda managed to surprise them?

Either way, the one person she didn't want to share her feelings with was Arieyn. It wasn't that she didn't trust the girl – in fact, Arieyn was one of the few people in the world she did trust – but there was a time and a place for showing weakness, and this was neither the time nor the place. And she was a bit confused by the way Arieyn looked at her; nobody ever seemed to look at her that way.

Did Arieyn think they were more than an alliance?

"I think we should leave the castle," Arieyn suggested. "You seem a bit shaken up, and maybe a change of scenery would be a good idea."

 _Maybe Arieyn's right,_ Vixyn thought. _It's much easier to sneak up on people when they're in rooms; maybe going outside would be a good idea._ "Sure," she said simply.

As the girls were on the first floor, it was quite easy for them to make their way towards the doors. They carefully pushed them open and made their way towards the forest. Once they got to the edge of the trees, however, they felt the ground rumble; the impact pushed the two down to the ground, Vixyn's quick thinking saving Arieyn's head from slamming into it. "Thank you," Arieyn smiled oddly. Vixyn nodded, slightly questioning her decision due to its effect on her ally. "But what was that?" she shook it off,

"I don't know," Vixyn said. "Let's get a bit more distance." The two snuck a little further away from the castle, keeping their eye on it, yet staying close to the ground in an attempt to avoid falling over again.

The two could barely believe their eyes as a giant wall rose from the ground, encircling the castle.

* * *

 _Ferrari Benz, 15, District Six_

 _Location: Lower Left Hand Corner, Third Floor_

* * *

Ferrari was just walking around the third floor, minding her own business, when the rumbling started. Her first instinct was to brace herself against the rumbling, trying to wait out the worst of it. So she did.

As she remained huddled over herself, she heard the voice of a butler shout over the rumble, "I have a package for Ferrari Benz."

Ferrari was elated. She grabbed the package and ripped it open, only to find inside the exact morale boosts she needed: ice cream and candy necklaces.

Clearly, her mentors knew her well.

Ravenous for the sweet taste of sugar, Ferrari immediately consumed every morsel of her package. And as she did so, she finally came to her senses.

Why was she staying put where she was, plastered to the wall? When did Ferrari Benz ever avoid danger?

Ferrari looked at the stairway by her; as she hadn't spent a ton of time on the third floor after Nanami and Blaze's deaths, she didn't think to look to see if it went up. But, as it turned out, it did. Ferrari climbed what must have been two more flights of stairs before coming out on top of a turret.

At that moment, she knew that she had the best vantage point of any tribute in the Arena. With a few exceptions, she could see all around her; unfortunately, she could really only see the trees, and not the tributes. She figured that she needed to be a bit lower to effectively see the people below.

Ferrari would never know if it was the adrenaline pumping through her veins, or her reckless streak, or something else that propelled her to do what she did. But she knew, at least, that the wall was a few feet shorter than the turret, making it something like sixty or seventy feet tall. That was the perfect height: tall enough that she could see all around, but short enough that she might be able to see the people in the trees.

So, without thinking, as she often did, she jumped from the turret.

First, her foot made contact with the wall. But it hit with so much force that it buckled under her weight. With nothing to steady her, she fell backwards, her head hitting the wall on the way down to the ground.

 _Splat._ BOOM!

* * *

 _No other remarkably important events happened on Day 5. Elysia and Weave holed out in the forest, waiting for Kylis to return; Kylis would be attempting to avoid them at all costs. Those three girls were in the eastern half of the forest. Nyx, who had started the day in the western half, was moving around the circle to the east, carefully analyzing the trees she saw; there was no way to return to the Careers with whom she had allied, so she needed to focus on making an impact herself._

* * *

 _Kills:_

 _Arieyn Occisor (D1): Tistera Leone (D8), Incredible Grant (D1) (Not Officially Listed as a Kill)_

 _Ravi Waterford (D1): Amaryllis Horne (D11), Narcissa Wilder (D11)_

 _Vixyn Kearne (D2): Drenaline Fisher (D6), Freida Muller (D7)_

 _Carissa Lovarre (D2): Silver Flower (D8)_

 _Ferrari Benz (D6): Ferrari Benz (D6) (not intended as suicide but listed as such)_

 _Frieda Muller (D7): Blaze Donohue (D1), Nanami Cascade (D4)_

 _Mutts: Drew Voltas (D3) (listed kill but not dead), Carina-Jean Laurent (C) (Not Officially Listed as a Kill)_

* * *

 _Alliances:_

 _Well, Now They're Really Separated:_ _Arieyn, Lavender (D1); Carissa, Vixyn (D2)_

 _-The Lower/Middle/Whatever Pack or The Backup Plans: Lavender (D1), Carissa (D2)_

 _-The Upper Pack: Arieyn, Ravi (D1), Vixyn (D2)_

 _The Gender-Benders, or District Three:_ _Muire, Pix_

 _What They Don't Know Still Can't Hurt Them:_ _Elysia (D6), Weave (D8)_

 _Three Strong-Willed Women, or District Ten:_ _Peach, Cheyenne, Eloise_

 _Loners:_ _Tistera (D8), Kylis (D9), Nyx (D12) {could still return to the Careers but is kind of stuck due to the wall}_

* * *

 _Locations of the Tributes at the End of Day Five_

 _Outside of the Castle_

 _What They Don't Know Still Can't Hurt Them (Elysia, Weave): The Woods Outside of the Castle, Eastern Side_

 _Kylis: The Woods Outside of the Castle, Eastern Side_

 _Nyx: The Woods Outside of the Castle, Northern Side, Moving to the East_

 _Upper Pack (Arieyn, Vixyn): The Woods Outside of the Castle, Southern Side_

 _Inside the Castle_

 _The Gender-Benders (Mu, Pix): Great Hall Complex, First Floor_

 _Middle Pack (Lavender, Carissa): Upper Left Corner, Second Floor_

 _District Ten (Cheyenne, Eloise, Peach): Balcony of Great Hall, Third Floor_

* * *

 **Eulogies**

 **16** **th** **Place: Ravi Waterford, District One, Killed by Freida**

 **Ravi was such a fun tribute to write. She wasn't a traditional Career by any stretch of the word, and I knew that she'd be done in by her refusal to use weapons; Freida's use of the element of the surprise didn't help either. I loved writing someone so strong and disciplined, and genuinely enjoyed Ravi a lot. Thanks, LCS, for Ravi, and while you don't have any more Games tributes to root for, you still have Singer in the Selection!**

 **{Family Fact: Ravi's family mourned their daughter, but they respected her choice to go into the Games. She was greatly missed by her dojo as well, because of her skills and potential. Her brother, Marquise, designed some gorgeous dragon necklaces for his collection in her memory.}**

 **15** **th** **Place: Freida Muller, District Seven, Killed by Vixyn**

 **They say that pride goeth before a fall, and that was always my intention for Freida: pride, then fall. Once she got rid of two Careers, she thought she could do anything, not knowing that the two Careers she took out were easy gets. I really enjoyed writing such a strong and passionate tribute who was never afraid to speak her mind. Thanks, SecretsWithSouls00, for the super powerful Freida!**

 **{Family Fact: Freida's mother wouldn't miss her all that much, but her father would greatly pine for his daughter. He would form very close bonds with her friends, and would carefully take care of her grave for as long as they lived.}**

 **14** **th** **Place: Ferrari Benz, District Six, Inadvertently Committed Suicide**

 **Ferrari! You were such a fun girl to write. I loved her adrenaline streak, and knew that you'd do something stupid to get yourself killed. Developing that bravery and carelessness was so much fun for me, and I hope you enjoyed reading that as much as I liked writing it! Thanks, Silverflower, for Ferrari; you've still got Peach, so good luck!**

 **{Family Fact: Ferrari's parents would miss their daughter a lot, as would her younger sister, Jaguar, who would eventually take Ferrari's place among the drag racers in the district. Ferrari's friends decorated the car Ferrari last drove with red paint and the letters FB, so her memory would live on.}**

* * *

 **Wow, this chapter took a while, and it is (unfortunately) much shorter than the last one. I have had such a busy few weeks, but I'm hoping to get a few more out this week so that I can get back on track. Once we get past April, updates will pick up as well. We're actually pretty close to the end of the Games, but you'll see what I have in store! It's gonna be fun.**

 **So, what did you think? Will Pix and Mu ever find the tribute list? Will the D10 alliance hold up much longer? Will Lavender ever get what she wants? What is the implication of that wall going up? How many more days are left in the Games? Who is gonna win?**

 **I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you next time! Thanks so much for your overwhelming support.**

 **-goldie031**


	44. Games, Day 6: Into the Woods

"So, it turns out Lavender needs glasses," Tyranny lamented to Trienda Orrenn, Victor of the 102nd Games and Arieyn's mentor, over her morning coffee, keeping a side eye on her tributes in the Arena. "How am I supposed to send her a pair of glasses?"

"OK, let's first make sure you're not jumping the gun. How do we know that she needs glasses?"

Tyranny smiled. "We heard from Lavender's mom that she'd had an eye exam the day before the Reaping and they said her eyes might experience a rapid change due to her entering puberty, which is actually fairly common in girls of that age. I just don't want to get her the wrong prescription."

"But we know it's reading glasses she needs, right?" Trienda suggested. "Reading glasses only have so many prescriptions, and we're in the Capitol. See if you can talk to Gamemaker Emerald and work something out."

"I doubt that's gonna work, but I'll see. Maybe I can have dinner with one of her sponsors and see if they'll give money for that specific purpose. Now, why did you want to have coffee with me?"

"We need to talk a bit of strategy," smiled Trienda.

It wasn't that Tyranny didn't enjoy Trienda's company. The two women had won just two years apart, and were separated in age by a singular year. But that meant that the two had spent almost all of their time mentoring doing so together, giving each a clear understanding of the other's tactics. Trienda in particular was known as the strategist; she was the only one of One's living Victors who had won by using wit rather than strength. This meant that she looked at the Games with a purely strategic eye, to see how she as a mentor could use her gifts to help her tributes. Clearly, if she wanted to converse with the much less strategic Tyranny, it was strategy that they would be discussing.

"What do you mean strategy?"

"We need to discuss how we're going to handle the Two mentors. Clearly, we have the potential to bring both Lavender and Arieyn home, and I think that's more likely because one's in the castle and one's out of the castle. After all, logic would dictate that one tribute from each group will win, especially because they're divided almost evenly. But, it also benefits us to work with the mentors from Two. That way we have more help with sponsor gifts and such. So how do we manage to do that without clueing them in to our plan?"

Tyranny groaned. "Why is that such a big deal? They know that it's better for us to get our girls home. We know that it's better for them to get their girls home. And we all know that if we don't work together, none of them are coming home. I think that, as long as our girls are in the final four, at least one of them is coming home; Arieyn can easily use that poison of hers to screw everyone else over. I think our best bet is to not overthink things and to hang tight until we get closer to the end."

"You may be right," nodded Trienda. "But you know how hard it is for me to 'just hang tight.' Plus, I'm a bit wary of the District Two mentors. They're much more vicious than even we are, and I don't trust them to not screw us over in some way."

"Trienda, Arieyn's weapon is one of the hardest to defend against unless one has been building up immunity, which she has. As long as Arieyn doesn't mess things up with that poison, we'll be fine. Trust me."

* * *

 _Arieyn Occisor, 17, District One_

 _Location: The Woods Outside of the Castle, Southern Half_

* * *

It was only when Arieyn woke up that the previous day's events really sunk in.

She knew that, for her to win, Ravi would have to die. It was part of the Games. But the way it felt to lose her was much, much harder than she had ever imagined. If it was this hard to just lose an ally, how much harder would it be for her to lose Vixyn!

 _Stop it, Arieyn. Snap out of it. You can't be focused on this if you want to win. Go back to the task at hand._

Arieyn, being on the second watch shift, had been up for a few hours now working on a project. A math project, to be precise. She needed to figure out using math how much of her strongest poison she could ingest without dying, as the strategy she'd been preparing to use with it required as such. Sure, she could have changed her strategy, but there were only so many strategies one could use when working with poison. Plus, if for whatever reason something got mixed up, she didn't want to accidentally ingest more poison than she could handle. And it wasn't like she had a legitimate fall-back plan; poison and poison darts were really her only weapons.

Arieyn knew that she had a certain amount of immunity to some poison; that was natural when one had been building up immunity for that long. She just wasn't sure to how much she was immune, because of Creddi's ineptitude. But, she did know how much immunity she'd lose each day, and how much she'd started and finished with. she just had to hope that she did all the math right for things to work.

As she thought and calculated, her thoughts kept drifting back to Vixyn. She couldn't shake the thought of losing the girl she felt a burning desire for. If this was love, which Arieyn was pretty sure it was, she was thrilled to feel it for the other girl. But it did make the killing thing more complicated.

But she had to do it. In the Games, love had to take a backseat to living.

Arieyn began to formulate a plan in her mind. She didn't want to kill her ally without warning – that was something, in her mind, dishonorable. And she wanted it to seem to Vixyn like she had a fighting chance.

And to do that, she had to use the one thing she'd been gifted from her mother: her intelligence and wit.

* * *

 _Pix Drexel, 17, District Three_

 _Location:_ _Great Hall Complex, First Floor_

* * *

It was a bit of the slow morning for the tributes from Three. Pix and Mu had decided to treat themselves to breakfast in bed, and then get ready to move out. Pix was now getting a bit anxious, though, after their prior inactivity during the Games.

"All right, Mu. Are you ready to go?" Pix asked, sitting up in the bed in the room in which she and Mu were staying.

"No."

Pix closed her eyes in frustration. "What do you mean, no?" she said, as calmly as she could.

"It's going to be bad luck," they replied matter-of-factly.

"Bad luck?"

Mu explained, "Have you never heard the expression, 'When thirteen are at dinner, the first to rise is the first to die'?"

"But we're not eating."

"Still. We heard the last cannon after we were already in bed last night. Now, there are thirteen of us left. I'm worried that, if we move first, we'll die."

It seemed to Pix that, by the day, Mu was becoming more of a liability. She was resistant to literally the single best strategy of the Games: just keep moving. Plus, Pix just didn't understand their thought process; after all, the logic of a computer generally stood opposed to superstition. It just didn't make sense to be superstitious, especially in this situation; everyone technically had the same odds of dying. What was to say that one person was more likely to die than any other?

But then, she stopped and thought. While she didn't want to deal with Mu all that much, she knew that she had a better shot against the Careers with an ally, especially a weaker ally who could be killed first. And if Mu was worried about moving, she'd certainly freeze when faced with a real enemy.

So maybe certain people did have better or worse odds of dying.

"OK, Mu," said Pix, possibly against her better judgement. "We'll stay here for now, but I want to get moving as soon as we hear a cannon. Then we'll be down to twelve."

"OK!" exclaimed Mu, happy that her ally was agreeing with her.

* * *

 _Weave Flasherett, 17, District Eight_

 _Location:_ _The Woods Outside of the Castle, Eastern Side_

* * *

"How many days have we been camped?" asked Weave, looking through her bag.

"I think we camped out four days ago, but we've been wandering around during the day. Why?"

"Kylis still isn't back with our water."

Elysia shrugged. "These woods are big. She probably just got lost."

Weave sighed. "I have a feeling Kylis didn't get lost," she said. "I think we should get moving without her. The Gamemakers don't like people staying so stagnant for so long.

"But I don't want to desert her."

Weave looked Elysia in the eye. "I'm fairly confident that Kylis has already deserted us."

The girls looked each other in the eye. They were both generally quiet, non-confrontational people who didn't like making a scene. The last thing either one wanted to do was argue. But, Weave knew the importance of moving around; she'd already articulated it to her ally. Suddenly, she realized the way that she could get through to Elysia: the one thing she literally couldn't live without.

"Do we have any water left?"

Elysia shook the water bottle from her pack. "Not in this bottle. Does yours?"

"Nope. And there's none in the third bottle either. I don't know what there is in the woods, but I think we need to find some water. Let's go together so we can get water more quickly and then camp."

Weave almost urged Elysia with her eyes, looking at the younger girl and waiting for a response. She thought she saw her ally's mind racing before Elysia finally replied, "OK. Let's go."

Weave stood up, then helped her ally stand; the two carefully packed up their bags and began moving towards what they hoped was a source of water.

* * *

 _Nyx Mynier, 16, District Twelve_

 _Location:_ _The Woods Outside of the Castle, Eastern Side_

* * *

Today was the day to put her plan in action, Nyx decided.

She had spent the morning double-checking the bombs she had constructed, and was fairly confident that they were wired correctly and were ready to go. Nyx was glad to have two options: one that she needed to place and set off, or one that she needed to set off and then throw. While Nyx didn't want to use them both, she was fully ready to do so if that was what she needed to do to win.

Now she just needed a target.

Nyx decided to keep walking around in the woods until she found someone to kill. She moved slowly, conserving her energy, sipping a bit of water from her bottle every 35 or so minutes. Finally, she saw a flash of purple, then a flash of red, through the trees. That meant it was either Singer or Weave from Eight, allied with Elysia or Danira from Six, as those were the only remaining tributes from either of those districts. She decided to tail them for a little while, hoping that they would eventually camp out; after a while, she was rewarded when the two girls broke for lunch.

Stealthily, Nyx got closer to the girls. As she registered that it was Elysia and Weave, she found herself a little bit upset. If the other two girls from those districts had been in the Games, they would have been fairly strong physical threats; instead, she was steps away from potentially the two weakest tributes. Killing them with the bombs would have little bearing on her future success; they weren't going to win anyway, so why did she need to take them out now?

Suddenly, Nyx had a flashback to Johanna Mason, District Seven's most famous Victor. She was well-known for her strategy of seeming weak early on, and then coming out and dominating during the Games. Nyx couldn't count that these two wouldn't do the same thing.

So, it was settled. Nyx had to use a bomb to get herself closer to the end. But which one?

With these two, if she threw the bomb, they would probably run. Nyx was way too close to them for the bomb to land correctly and in a stealthy fashion. So, she elected to leave her stuff where she was and bring the bomb closer to the camp, carefully placing it to Weave's right, near enough to the two girls to either blow them up or knock down a tree that could fall on them. Then, she started the timer and returned to her bags, deactivating the smaller bomb and packing it up in her pack.

Unfortunately for Nyx, she made a significant miscalculation.

See, Nyx didn't realize how strong Capitol bombs are. In District Twelve, bombs need to be very low-power, because any excess could cause a mine explosion or avalanche. The bomb she set off was much, much stronger, meaning that she had to be farther away from it to not be affected. So, when the bomb went off, the force knocked Nyx off of her feet, sending her flying into a tree.

Nyx only barely heard the two girls' two cannons before she blacked out.

* * *

 _Kylis Divola, 18, District Nine_

 _Location:_ _The Woods Outside of the Castle, Northern Side_

* * *

The two cannons jolted Kylis out of her monotonous walking. She hated that she felt relieved when she heard them; she knew that each represented a life, but she was glad that she was two steps closer to going home.

As usual, Kylis had spent the day wandering around, looking for anything that could help her. The woods were large and intimidating, so finding anything was a major challenge; the advantage to that, however, was that she would likely not run into any other tributes.

Kylis's plan for the Games basically centered around two pillars, of sorts. First, she attempted to conserve her food and water. Resources seemed to be scarce outside of the castle, so she needed to make sure that she made what she had last for a while. Secondly, she never went a day without thinking of the prize that awaited her at the end: her Dania. Nothing mattered more to her than making it back to her girlfriend, so that they could live a long and happy life together. So maybe she had been walking too much, but the thought of going back to Dania kept pushing her on.

But at the same time, there was a certain amount of stress about returning home. Kylis knew that she'd made the right call by breaking up with Dania, but even though they'd gotten back together, Kylis didn't know if Dania still felt the same way. And she also knew that there might be tension between the two girls if she got back home.

That was a problem for that point, though. For the time being, she had to focus on getting back to Dania, so that they could work through those problems.

Kylis felt a bit exhausted, admittedly, from the demands of the Games. She'd been wandering for a very long time, what felt like years, and she was just tired of it. She decided that it might be intelligent to stop walking and take a break, allowing her muscles to rest before she continued her journey the next day. She chose a tree to sit next to, putting her bag down by her side. Then, she opened her bag and pulled out a bag of crackers to have a small dinner before going to bed.

After a little while of waiting, she heard the sounds of the anthem. Kylis looked up at the sky to see to whom the afternoon's cannons belonged. She clearly saw the faces of her former allies from Six and Eight shining down towards her. For the first time, she felt a slight pang of remorse; it was certainly possible that, had she not run away, the other two girls would still be alive. It was odd for Kylis to feel that remorse; she didn't usually feel that towards anyone, much less two girls who had been complete strangers the day before.

Maybe feeling remorse was a good thing, though it was so out-of-character for her. And she knew that.

Kylis suddenly felt tired again. She lowered her head, then did a double-take. She blinked, then blinked again, convinced that she was seeing things.

She could have sworn that, before the anthem played, there had been a tree in front of her. Now, it was gone, not even a stump to indicate that it had once existed.

Kylis figured that she was tired, and therefore just seeing things. She figured she needed rest, so curled up at the foot of the tree and tried to fall asleep, sure that she'd figure out what was going on the next day.

* * *

 _Action inside the castle was fairly non-existent during this day, as alliances prepared for big things go come. Therefore, no other important things happened._

* * *

 _Kills:_

 _Arieyn Occisor (D1): Tistera Leone (D8), Incredible Grant (D1) (Not Officially Listed as a Kill)_

 _Ravi Waterford (D1): Amaryllis Horne (D11), Narcissa Wilder (D11)_

 _Vixyn Kearne (D2): Drenaline Fisher (D6), Freida Muller (D7)_

 _Carissa Lovarre (D2): Silver Flower (D8)_

 _Ferrari Benz (D6): Ferrari Benz (D6) (not intended as suicide but listed as such)_

 _Frieda Muller (D7): Blaze Donohue (D1), Nanami Cascade (D4)_

 _Nyx Mynier (D12): Elysia Hall (D6), Weave Flasherett (D8)_

 _Mutts: Drew Voltas (D3) (listed kill but not dead), Carina-Jean Laurent (C) (Not Officially Listed as a Kill)_

* * *

 _Alliances:_

 _Well, Now They're Really Separated:_ _Arieyn, Lavender (D1); Carissa, Vixyn (D2)_

 _-The Lower/Middle/Whatever Pack or The Backup Plans: Lavender (D1), Carissa (D2)_

 _-The Upper Pack: Arieyn, Ravi (D1), Vixyn (D2)_

 _The Gender-Benders, or District Three:_ _Muire, Pix_

 _Three Strong-Willed Women (AKA District Ten):_ _Peach, Cheyenne, Eloise_

 _Loners:_ _Tistera (D8), Kylis (D9), Nyx (D12) {could still return to the Careers but is kind of stuck due to the wall}_

* * *

 _Locations of the Tributes at the End of Day Five_

 _Outside of the Castle_

 _Kylis: The Woods Outside of the Castle, Northern Side_

 _Nyx: The Woods Outside of the Castle, Eastern Side_

 _Upper Pack (Arieyn, Vixyn): The Woods Outside of the Castle, South-Western Side_

 _Inside the Castle_

 _The Gender-Benders (Mu, Pix): Great Hall Complex, First Floor_

 _Middle Pack (Lavender, Carissa): Upper Left Corner, Second Floor_

 _District Ten (Cheyenne, Eloise, Peach): Balcony of Great Hall, Third Floor_

* * *

 **Eulogies**

 **13** **th** **Place: Weave Flasherett, District Eight, Killed by Nyx**

 **For the record, Weave got the lower placement of the two girls because she was slightly closer to the bomb. I had a lot of fun writing Weave. She was a really sweet and quiet girl, and so caring to her brother, but one who somehow often managed to get her way. I really enjoyed getting to bring this one to life. Sorry, 66samvr, for taking out your last hope, but I hope you enjoyed the read!**

 **{Family Fact: Weave's mother, while sad to lose her daughter, found the only possible silver lining: she now had more means with which to provide for her son, Loom. The young boy would eventually learn a talent for weaving, and would always do so with his big sister in mind.}**

 **12** **th** **Place: Elysia Hall, District Six, Killed by Nyx**

 **Oh, poor Elysia. She was so oblivious and sweet, and really had little sense of what was going on around her. I enjoyed getting to develop her obliviousness, and have loved playing with this musical morphling addict. Thanks, david12341, for your sweet little girl, and I hope you keep reading for your Selection girls!**

 **{Family Fact: Elysia's parents wouldn't miss their daughter, whom they regarded as a mistake and an accident in the first place. Dalton, her mentor, would struggle with the loss of his protegee, but eventually recover and train other girls in music in her memory.}**

* * *

 **Wow, this chapter took forever to write. My life has been insane, combined with losing 4 days of spring break to Jewish holidays. Not that I dislike that, but it's a bit of an inconvenience. After next weekend, when I get discharged from my youth group position, my schedule frees up so I can write more.**

 **So, what did you think? Was Mu's superstition warranted? Is Arieyn's thinking and math gonna actually work? Is Kylis feeling real remorse? What is going on with the trees, if anything?**

 **Thank you all for your patience and support, and I'll see you next chapter for what I think will be another look into Selection stuff!**

 **-goldie031**


	45. Selection: Homeward Bound, Part One

_Brietta Westwood, 15, District Twelve_

* * *

Brietta woke up in the morning more excited than she'd been in days. Yes, she'd been excited to be picked by Garnet. Yes, she was always happy to spend time with other people. But there was no more exciting day than her birthday.

When she woke up, Brietta was surprised to see a dress already picked out for her. It was perfect: a pretty, shimmery, knee-length pink dress in just her favorite shade. She eagerly slipped it on, slid on a matching pair of pink flats, and put in a silver headband that matched the silver locket she'd brought as her token.

Brietta opened the locket and looked carefully at the picture of her family that it contained. Sure, she was happy to be alive and to be celebrating another birthday, but she was upset to be spending it away from her siblings, Ronan, Avalon, and Isolde, and her best friend Sophia. It was hard for her to be away with her family for so long, but she knew that she had a shot at something greater. Much greater.

Then, she noticed a note sitting on her bedside table. Brietta carefully opened the pristine purple envelope and slid out a white piece of cardstock with carefully printed purple writing. Brietta was quite excited to see that it was from Violet, and sat on her bed to read the letter.

 _Dear Brietta,_

 _Garnet has requested an audience with you today. Please meet outside of Private Room G at 10:30._

 _-Violet_

A flutter of excitement flew through Brietta's body. She'd be one of the first girls to interact one-on-one with Garnet! Now that she was fifteen, maybe she had a real shot with him, too!

Feeling energized and awake, and her hair moderately cooperating, Brietta went out into the common room. "Good morning, Brietta. Happy birthday!" said Dania, as the younger girl took a seat on the couch.

"Thank you, Dania. Is anyone else up yet?"

"Nope. But people should be up soon! Did they set aside the dress for your birthday, so you'd have a special dress?" asked Dania.

"I don't know. You didn't have a special dress for your birthday last week, right?"

"Right…"

The girls fell silent as the TV blared to life with the Games broadcast. Immediately, they recognized that something was off; the night before, the forest had been full, but now, there were half as many trees, and no stumps to indicate where they were. "Something's changing in the Arena," Dania realized. "And it makes it much easier for the forest girls to find each other."

"Think the forest will disappear?"

"Doubt it," Dania replied. "I think it's too much of a part of the Games now. I have a feeling it's making room for something bigger later on."

The morning crawled on. Brietta sat on the couch, graciously receiving the day's birthday wishes, and even a stack of chocolate chip pancakes, just waiting for the fateful hour to arrive. Finally, it was 10:15! Brietta politely excused herself and made her way to the private room, where she found a row of chairs outside. She did feel a bit dejected that she wasn't the only girl to get an audience today, but she quickly shook it off; clearly, not everyone would be getting one in the first place. She took a seat on the chair closest to the door, anxiously awaiting her time with the object of all of the girls' affections.

* * *

"Are you ready for this, Garnet?" asked his mother, as Garnet organized stacks of papers on the desk, preparing for the seven audiences he'd scheduled for that day.

"I think so, Mom. This was an easy cut for me, and I don't expect any reaction too extreme from the girls."

"And you know when you cut that there's not going back, right?"

"Yes, mother," groaned Garnet.

"OK," Ruby smiled. "I'm glad you're now taking this seriously. I'm going to go back to work now, and I'll turn it over to Violet. Good luck, dear." With that, she swept out the back door, towards what Garnet presumed to be a hovercraft.

After a moment, Violet came in holding a translucent purple clipboard. "Garnet, can you just verify the order of the audiences and make sure the right girls were called?" she asked, giving the clipboard to her cousin.

Garnet skimmed the piece of paper on top, then handed the clipboard back to her. "This all looks good, Vi. Thank you."

"Can I send the first one in?"

"Sure."

The first girl to come in was the youngest one, little Brooklyn Cherry. She looked very young in her bright white dress, and while she seemed to know what was coming, Brook was ready to take it in stride.

"Good morning, Brooklyn. How are you?"

"Good," she said quietly.

Garnet took a deep breath. "So, I don't know if what I'm about to tell you will come as a surprise, but I don't want to beat around the bush; I have not selected you to be my wife."

The little one smiled. "I'm not surprised," she said. "I'm still tiny and little. But thank you for picking me so I didn't die in the Games."

"You're very welcome, Brooklyn. Did you have a good week this week?" he asked warmly.

"Yes, I did. It was nice."

"I'm glad. Thank you, Brooklyn."

Brooklyn smiled again. "Thank you, Mr. Garnet." She carefully stood up and walked out of the room.

Garnet looked at his cousin as she closed the door behind Brooklyn. "Was that good?" he asked his cousin.

"Good is exactly the word I'd use," said Violet. "Maybe be a bit gentler, and don't go right into it; remember how young some of these girls are. She took it well, thought."

"That's what I figured with her," Garnet said. "She knew she had no shot; she literally just turned twelve the week before the Reaping. Can you bring in the next one?"

"Sure."

The next girl to come in was almost as little as Brooklyn, but not quite; Erin Mochurn-Fuego gingerly took her seat across from Garnet. "Hello, Erin," said Garnet. "How are you?"

"I'm OK," said Erin. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you. Have you been enjoying your time here in the Capitol?"

"It's been good. Why did you call for an audience with me?"

Garnet smiled. "What makes you think I had a reason?"

"Because you haven't had audiences with anyone yet. I bet you have a reason for this, and I'd like to know now," Erin said authoritatively. "Please," she added, almost as an afterthought.

The smile on his face turned into more of a smirk. "As a matter of fact, you're right. Erin, after careful deliberation, I have not selected you to be my wife."

"I'm not surprised," she leveled with him. "I'm twelve and also already married."

"Which I do find to be an odd combination," Garnet replied, amused by the small girl with the big personality. "Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed your time here in the Capitol."

"I have. I've actually learned a lot about myself. Thank you, Garnet."

"You're very welcome."

The two fell silent for a moment before Erin gave Garnet a polite nod, then got up and left the room.

"That one is a piece of work," Violet murmured, shaking her head as she closed the door behind Erin.

Garnet shrugged. "Grew up rich, never had to work for anything. I'm glad she learned something, at least. Hopefully it will carry through. Send in the next girl, please."

Into the room came Maddi Harper, anxiously fiddling with her long brown hair. She wasn't huge on interacting with other people, but when she had to, she much, much preferred her sister to be there with her. And being alone with a boy was even more difficult.

Garnet, seeing that Maddi was nervous, decided to just deal with her head on. He said gently, "Maddi, I am sorry to tell you this, but I have not selected you as my wife." Maddi nodded. "Would you like to go back to your sister now?" She nodded again. "OK. I think I'll be seeing her later, but feel free to hang with the other girls as well. I hope you enjoyed your time here, though. Thank you, Maddi." Gratefully, Maddi got up and left the room.

Garnet sighed. "They're all taking it well, but I feel bad that they feel so awkward around me. I don't know how to make it less bad."

"I think it'll get better when you get closer to some of the girls you don't send home. They just see you as…" Violet paused, trying to choose her words carefully as to not insult her cousin. "A figurehead. They see you as a figurehead, not really as a person. And remember, for the younger girls, they've likely not had one-on-one time with boys who aren't their family. I think you're doing great, Garnet. Just keep being gentle.

"Are you ready to continue?"

"Yes," said Garnet, rearranging some papers. "We can just go straight from girl to girl from here on out."

The next girl to come in was Millicent Jones. Unlike the younger girls, she was less shy and slightly more confident, and she had a pretty strong feeling about what was coming; Nil took her seat across from Garnet and steeled herself for what he was about to say.

"So, how've you been, Millicent?"

"Good. I'm feeling healthier than I ever have, which is quite good."

"Very good," Garnet nodded. "I have been thinking a lot, as I'm sure you can guess, about who to choose as a wife. And, unfortunately, I haven't chosen you." This tame, Garnet chose to let the news sink in for a moment; he figured Millicent wouldn't react too poorly, and he wanted to see what would happen if he let the news sink for a moment. But, she didn't react; instead, she just waited for Garnet to respond to her. After a few moments of awkward silence, Garnet picked his speech up again. "I'm going to send you home with another round of medicine just in case. I hope you enjoyed your time here," he finished. "Thank you, Millicent."

"Thank you," she replied, admittedly feeling relieved; Garnet was much too old for her. "May I go?"

"Yes, Millicent. Thank you."

Violet led Millicent out, then ushered Rain Peterson in. She took her seat in the chair, ready to talk to Garnet despite being nervous around him.

"Hi, Garnet," she began nervously.

"Hello, Rain. How's it going?"

"I'm doing well, thank you. How are you, Garnet?" Rain replied politely.

"I'm OK. I have some bad news to tell you, Rain. I have not selected you as my wife. I do hope that you've enjoyed your time here, though."

"I did, Garnet. I can't thank you enough for saving both me and Maddi."

"It was certainly my pleasure. You two are so sweet with each other. Take care of her when you go back home."

Rain smiled and nodded. "We both take care of each other."

"All right. Well, thank you, Rain."

"Before I go," paused Rain, "I have a question. Will you make sure that nothing happens to my family because of the Games rule change? My sister and I would still be eligible."

"Rain," Garnet said sternly, looking her in the eye, "I picked you, and you and your sister are both safe safe according to that. I will personally make sure that nothing goes wrong. I promise."

"Thank you. Thank you so, so much."

As Rain left the room, Garnet slumped onto his desk. "I'm so tired of this. It just feels so repetitive to me. I'm saying the same thing to each one! I wish I could do this all in a group."

"Yeah, but this is what it is. You only have two more to go and then you can be done for the day." Let's push through this."

Garnet nodded. "All right. Let's go."

It surprised Garnet that, when Douria Hovello came in, she looked more relieved than anything. She sat down in front of Garnet, and said, "Are you sending me home?"

"Why, yes," Garnet said, taken aback by her bluntness. "I, unfortunately, have not selected you as a wife. How could you tell?"

"I just had a feeling. I also knew that I wasn't feeling it with you."

Garnet nodded. "Interesting. Well, I'm glad that you've figured this out on your own," he smiled. "What are you going to do when you go back home?"

"I don't know. I haven't decided that yet. But I have some ideas." She smiled. "Thank you, Garnet. It was my pleasure."

Finally, Douria switched places with Brietta Westwood. Garnet knew that this would be the toughest one of all; she was, after all, the oldest of the girls he'd be sending home today. And it was also her birthday.

"So, Brietta," he began gingerly.

"Hello…"

"I have some news for you that you may not like. I have not selected you as my wife."

Brietta's face fell. "But I'm fifteen now! I'm like, much closer to your age! I can still be your wife, and I can be a part of the Capitol too!"

Garnet put on the same gentle expression he'd held all day. "My decision is, unfortunately, final, Brietta. I've really enjoyed your company, but you aren't someone that I can see being with for the rest of my life."

Brietta smiled. "I'm teasing with you. A little bit. I would like to be with you, but I respect your decision."

Garnet shook his head. "You got me a bit worried, Brietta. But thanks for taking it well. Good luck with everything."

Brietta nodded, and carefully led herself out.

"Brietta had me nervous there. I'm glad I've gotten this over with. Only nineteen left; maybe now it'll be easier for me to pick one."

Violet smiled sadly. "Honey, it only gets harder from here."

* * *

The seven little girls returned to the common area, where they said their goodbyes to their older counterparts; then, they had some lunch, after which they quickly packed up their suitcases to go back home. While they were a bit upset, they were also all happy to return to their friends and families. Admittedly, though, Brooklyn felt slightly scared; she didn't really have anything to return to. But she was excited to have the suitcase to take home, along with a few new t-shirts and dresses. It might be enough for a new start.

The girls were taken by limo to the train station, where they split into two groups; Erin said goodbye to her friends and boarded one train towards Five while the others traveled towards the southern tip of Twelve, which was right near the Eastern end of Eleven. With nothing better to do, Erin turned on the Games broadcast, only to see the images of various tributes reacting to the Selection trumpets sounding seven times in the Arena. It seemed to take a while for them to register what was happening, and Erin wasn't sure if they remembered what the trumpets even stood for; immediately, Lavender, Pix, Eloise, and Arieyn began debating with their respective alliances about who had been sent home, though they all knew they wouldn't find out for sure until that night. She decided to turn off the broadcast, not in the mood to watch the Games, and sat by the window, waiting for the short train trip back home to end.

As her home was in District Five, just south-west of the Capitol, Erin arrived back first. While there was little fanfare from the rest of the district, her family had been notified, it seemed, of her impending return, as her husband, parents, and sister were all waiting for her at the train station. As she got off the train, Iris, her older sister, ran up to Erin, giving her a huge hug. The two were immensely close before Erin left due to Iris's misfortune with her husband. "I'm so happy to have you back," Iris whispered. "Things got worse after you left. He beats me up."

Erin's face went white. She knew that things were getting bad before she left, but she didn't know they were that bad. "I'll see what I can do," she replied. Then, Erin gave her younger sister, Xyla, a hug, before embracing each of her parents. "Can I go back home with Tyler now?" she asked.

"Why, sure!" exclaimed Denise, relieved that her daughter was finally following her orders, and maybe actually ready to be a housewife.

When Erin returned home with her husband, she immediately apologized to him for the way she'd treated him. "I didn't realize how good I had it with you; you don't do anything with which I'm not comfortable, you're patient with me and kind to me, and you still let me do things I like. I'm sorry that I've treated you so badly, and I'll try to do better."

"Apology accepted," smiled Tyler, her husband. The two sat together to watch the Games that night, more as father and daughter than as husband and wife. It was, in fact, Tyler who managed to help Erin through the surreal experience of seeing her own face in the sky as the girls sent home from the Selection were revealed to the remaining tributes.

Erin held true to her word. It took some time, but she was able to eventually begin treating her husband with the respect she deserved. They fell into a rhythm; Erin would go to school and Tyler to work, then they'd work together on getting dinner ready and doing chores. They were twelve years apart, but the father-daughter relationship intensified, with Tyler later applying for custody of Erin later in the year. While he was never granted it, he did eventually allow her to do certain things that her parents didn't let her do, like interact with more people in her district. Tyler would even do his best to help get Iris out of her bad situation, though he wouldn't quite succeed.

Slowly, Erin discovered a normal life in Five. While she would never really love Tyler, she would develop a strong appreciation for him, and they would have fairly good experiences together for the rest of their lives.

* * *

The train trip from the Capitol to Eleven took quite a while, so much so that Rain and Maddi got to spend a full extra night together before going back home. About halfway down the border of District Eleven, Rain and Maddi were instructed to get off the train and get into a waiting car, which took them to the train station from which they left. There, they met their parents and siblings, who were more than happy to reunite with the girls, and who made Maddi promise never to leave home again. "No promises," giggled Maddi, giving her sister another hug. "But I'll try."

Maddi's parents were devoted to their daughter, but not so much to Rain; when they returned, conditions for Rain became slightly worse than they were before she left. Maddi, ever devoted to her sisters, began to fight her parents, with little luck. It was only when Maddi threatened to leave the house with Rain that they were a bit nicer about it. It was a return to normalcy for the sisters from Eleven, unlike Erin, who created a new normal, albeit a slightly improved normal, and so life plodded on for the girls from Eleven.

* * *

Finally, the four girls from Twelve returned home. As they reunited with their families, they said their goodbyes, gave each other hugs, and split, two to the Merchant section of time and two to the Seam, wondering if they'd ever see each other again.

Brietta was thrilled to see Avalon and Isolde, who couldn't stop thanking their older sister for keeping them safe. Liliana, Brietta's mom, began crying from happiness upon laying eyes on her daughter, and wouldn't let her second child go for a full five minutes.

"Hey mom?" said Brietta, looking up at the woman's tear-stained cheeks.

"Yes?"

"I have a request."

Liliana looked at her daughter. "Yes, dear?"

"Can we adopt Brooklyn?"

The mother fell silent. "Why do you ask?"

"Because she doesn't have any family or really any friends. Avalon and Isolde are basically her age, and we can make sure she's safe that way."

"Well," smiled Liliana, "what if I told you we were already in the process?"

Brietta broke into a grin and motioned to Brooklyn to come over. "That's the best."

It wasn't like there was nothing in it for the Westwoods. They were already fairly well-off in the first place, so adding one more mouth to feed wasn't a huge undertaking, especially one who could fend for herself for the most part. Additionally, Brooklyn had a decent-sized property from her mother in which she and her brother had been living, so by selling it and investing in the money, they were able to create a fund to take care of Brooklyn. She was able to wear hand-me-down clothes, and she was blonde like the twins, so she fit in with the family quite nicely. So, Brooklyn became Brooklyn Cherry Westwood, and she was as happy as she'd been in a while, though she always missed her birth family.

On the other side of the district, Douria settled back in at home. The whole way back, she'd been toying with what she'd do about her father and brother. A part of her was a bit wary about telling them her sexuality, because she'd been hiding it for so long. But her time in the Capitol had gave her the feeling that, had she gone into the Games, she would have felt incomplete not telling her family before she died. So, a few days after she came home, she sat down with her father and brother after dinner, ready to tell them the truth.

"So, I have something to tell you two," she said timidly.

"Yes, Douria?" her father replied warmly.

Douria took a deep breath. "I'm gay."

Obaran, her father, smiled. "That's what you have to tell me? That's all?"

The girl cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"I've known this since you were little, Douria. You were just never worried about any boys liking you, and you were always obsessed with one or another of your female classmates. I was just waiting for you to figure it out."

"I was always afraid to tell you sooner, because I didn't want to disappoint you."

"Douria," said Obaran, pulling his daughter into a hug, "you're my daughter. You can never disappoint me."

A lot was lifted off of Douria's chest that day. Over the next few days, she introduced her father and brother to her girlfriend, Mara, and was thrilled to find that she could truly be herself around them. It became time to move to the second goal she had when she came back.

During the day at school, Douria made sure to keep an eye on Millicent. Over the month or two after coming home, the older girl observed the younger girl, making sure that she was staying healthy. As Douria anticipated, over the two months, Millicent became sicker and sicker. She intervened, reminding Millicent to take her medicine, which helped keep her sort of healthy. It was her goal to figure out why Millicent kept getting sick, and she eventually figured out that it was, in fact, her family's fault; they were faking illnesses to get Millicent to do things, overworking her and causing her illness. While she wanted to fix the problem, she also knew that she, as a minor, couldn't do anything too drastic. So, while Millicent couldn't leave her house until she grew up, Douria did her best to look out for the little girl, inviting her over to her house to get some much-needed rest and doing everything she could to keep Nil healthy.

So the friendships forged in the Capitol helped the younger two of the District Twelve girls recover from their prior misfortunes, and the four girls reacclimated to a new-old normal in District Twelve.

* * *

 **Farewells**

 **26** **th** **Place: Brooklyn Cherry, District Twelve**

 **Brooklyn was one of those poor girls who had every single misfortune fall upon her in her tender little life. I knew from the get-go that Garnet would pity her, so I actually considered for a time placing her as a backup tribute to tug at the readers' heartstrings, but then changed my mind once I settled on Nyx and came up with the idea of Lavender. I really enjoyed writing a tribute so naïve and sweet, and will miss this little girl dearly. At least she gets to live! Thanks, david12341, for this cutie, and I hope you keep reading for Delilah!**

 **25** **th** **Place: Erin Mochurn-Fuego, District Five**

 **Erin was such a well-developed character for someone so young. She really had a good sense of herself, but had room to grow as well. I loved being able to facilitate her personal growth, helping her to see that what she had really wasn't that bad. Thanks, Platrium, for this unique character who really fit so well into the plot of this story, and I hope you stay around for Lavender in the Games.**

 **24** **th** **Place: Maddi Harper, District Eleven**

 **22** **nd** **Place: Rain Peterson, District Eleven**

 **It's hard for me to separate these two; they're really similar characters, and their stories are so intertwined. Rain and Maddi were both fairly simple characters. That's not a bad thing, especially in a story like this with so much complexity, both in plot and in characters, so people who are easy to write are such breaths of fresh air. What I really enjoyed about writing them is how Maddi and Rain both protected each other; most times with this trope, the older sibling protects the younger sibling(s), but here, both girls really shielded each other, which was a nice change. Thanks, AspiringAuthor94 for Rain Maddi, and I hope you stick around to see what Lennox does.**

 **23** **rd** **Place: Millicent Jones, District Twelve**

 **Poor Millicent. I haven't decided whether she or Brooklyn got the shorter end of life's stick, but she was so resilient about everything that life threw at her. She was loyal to a fault, so sweet and kind, and really deserved more than the family she got. So much of me wanted to give Millicent's story a happier ending than it had, but that just wasn't feasible because she's under 18 and is so loyal. Thank you, AmericanPi, for Erin, and I hope you stay to see how Phoebe fares!**

 **21** **st** **Place: Douria Hovello, District Twelve**

 **Douria was a really fun one for me. She was so sure of her sexuality at such a young age, which in it of itself is quite remarkable. I think what was really neat about Douria is that, even though she doesn't have that much wealth herself, she still watches out for other people so much. Thank you, EngineeringGames, for Douria, and stick around to see how your other two girls do!**

 **20** **th** **Place: Brietta Westwood, District Twelve**

 **Brietta was just so fun to write. She was upbeat and happy, but did have a bit of a skeptical side, which was cool to explore. I love writing tributes who are also super talkative, because I'm pretty talkative, and while she was a bit of a gossip, I do think she has a good heart, and she is so caring for her family. Thanks, mistycharming, for Brietta, and while you don't have anyone left on either side, I hope that you keep on reading!**

* * *

 **I am hoping that none of you were surprised that these girls got sent home. Maybe that they were sent home now, sure, but none of them were winning. They're way too young. This was kind of their purpose, too: Garnet would take pity on the little ones and then send them home early. But I did love writing each and every one of them. Were you at least surprised that they got sent home this early, maybe? A little bit?**

 **How was the writing? Was the Garnet section choppy? What did you think of the later sections of the chapter?**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I have so much more time now to write, but I'm also now sending my computer in to get fixed (duct tape is a remarkable thing), so who knows when I'll have access to a laptop.**

 **Next up, something big happens in the Games. We're getting close to the end, and this will definitely shake everything up. I'll see y'all then!**

 **Thank you all for your continued support,**

 **-goldie031**


	46. Games, Day 8: Coronation Day

**Please vote in the poll on my profile, and don't forget to PM me about sponsor gifts. On to the chapter!**

* * *

 _Nyx Mynier, 16, District Twelve_

 _Location: The Woods Outside of the Castle, Eastern Side_

* * *

Waking up, Nyx was just as confused as she'd been the day before. The sun was bright, almost too bright, and her head almost felt heavy. Like the day before, she took a few moments to come to and figure out where she was: the Arena of the 125th Hunger Games. It had become clear to her the day before when she'd woken up that something had gone wrong after her fall, but she'd assumed that it would pass after a day; now, having woken up on the second day after being flung to the ground by her own bomb, it was clear that there was something bigger going on.

It was only from her part-time work in the mines that Nyx knew the word "concussion". She wasn't entirely sure how she managed to come up with it at that point, but she knew what it usually meant when working in the mines: at least two months out of work, because one couldn't really think or deal with light, which in turn meant that they couldn't provide for their family. It was not a good thing to get a concussion, and this was certainly not good for her chances of survival.

Luckily for Nyx, she felt a package land on her stomach. She reached out for it, grasped the box, and brought it closer to her face. After opening it, she discovered that it contained exactly what she needed. Well, maybe not _exactly_ what she needed. Medicine would have been better, but she wasn't sure if brain medicine existed. The heavy-duty pair of aviator sunglasses, though, would certainly help. When Nyx slid them onto her face, thanking her lucky stars that she didn't wear glasses, the sun was still quite bright, but it was certainly not as bad as it had been. She was still a bit too heavy-headed to stand up, however; Nyx decided to try to give it another rest day before moving on.

Suddenly, Nyx heard the sounds of trumpets. She couldn't quite figure out if they were the same trumpets as she'd heard the day before – what were those trumpets for, anyway? – but she figured that they had to be important. She carefully, slowly, calmly sat up, trying to find the source of the noise. After a moment of waiting, she found it: a procession of cavalry and foot-soldiers, some men holding fluttering, bright, colorful banners. In the middle of the procession, flanked by the soldiers, were two gorgeous white horses, bearing a young and handsome man and an equally young and equally beautiful woman towards the palace. The two were resplendent in their royal robes; clearly, a coronation was in store.

Nyx snapped out of what she presumed to be a daydream. Clearly, the concussion was getting to her head; she needed to get some more sleep or something to set herself straight. So, she put her pack under her head and curled up at the foot of a tree. Hopefully, nothing big would happen while she was asleep; that would leave her completely out of the loop. She didn't even know how many tributes were left.

* * *

 _Carissa Lovarre, 18, District Two_

 _Location: Upper Left Corner, Second Floor_

* * *

"I have this feeling that something is going to happen today, Lavender," said Carissa, finishing off the girls' last piece of jerky. "We're almost out of food, and I wouldn't be surprised if the other girls need stuff too. Plus, nothing big has happened in two days. I think something is happening."

"You've said that, like, seven times today. I can't say that I agree with you, because there were two deaths two days ago."

"But that was two days ago. And I don't think that those deaths were in the castle."

"Look. Whatever, happens, happens. We'll deal with it then."

Suddenly, Lavender saw a butler come up to them. Without allowing him to speak, she took the package from his tray and shooed him away. She carefully opened the box, and immediately a smile crossed her face. "I got my glasses! And a magnifying glass too, just in case."

"Don't you think that you were a bit harsh to the butler?" smirked Carissa.

"He's a mutt or a robot or something. I don't think he cares."

"If he retaliates against you, don't come crying back to me."

"What could he possibly do?"

"I don't know. This is the Hunger Games, after all."

The two girls fell silent for a moment. "Let's move a little bit," Lavender suggested. "We've been here for, like, three days."

"Does up the stairs sound good?"

"Sure."

The two girls climbed the stairs closest to them, in the upper left hand corner of the castle, going as far up as they could go. After quite a few stairs, they got up to the top of the turret. Carissa and Lavender were amazed by how far they could see from up top.

After a little bit of time during which the girls were simply awestruck by the forest, Carissa noticed something in the distance. It was long, it was colorful, and it was moving towards the castle. "Hey, Lavender," she called, pointing to the thing. "What do you think that is?"

Lavender moved over to where Carissa was sitting, then furrowed her brow. "I have no idea. But I think it's something we're going to want to know more about, because nothing would be moving in this Arena unless there was a reason for it. Right?"

"Not always," Carissa replied. "In primarily outdoor Arenas, there will be animals moving just because they move. But something like this? There's probably a reason for it."

Lavender kept watching the colorful thing as it disappeared behind the wall. "I think we should go back downstairs into the castle."'

Carissa sighed and rolled her eyes. "You literally just suggested that we move."

"But here's the thing. If that movement affects everyone in the Arena, in or out of the castle, we'll hear no matter what. But if it only affects the people in the castle, I'm worried about hearing an announcement about it if we're up here."

Carissa cocked her head. "Explain more…"

"If the Gamemakers want to keep the events inside of the castle secret from the people outside of the castle, they might not broadcast it up here because the sound might travel. I have no idea what's happening outside of the castle, so I'm guessing that, plus the wall, means it's their intention to keep us separated. We should go down into the castle so we can know for sure what's happening, because if we miss something like a feast, we could be screwed."

Carissa thought things through. She really didn't want to go all the way down the stairs; she already didn't have the best stamina, and it was annoying to basically go right back to where the two girls had started. But on the other hand, Lavender could be right. Missing something at this stage of the Games could be disastrous, especially if that something was a feast, and when one's life was on the line, disastrous events were not good, to say the least.

Carissa hated to admit it, but Lavender was probably right. So she acquiesced to her younger ally, and the two began the trek down the stairs, preparing for what would probably be a difficult day ahead.

* * *

 _Muire Spencer, 17, District Three_

 _Location: Great Hall Complex, First Floor_

* * *

Having been her ally for quite a while now, Mu was close enough with Pix that they could sense her anxiety. After all, the two had been in the same bedroom, just off of the Great Hall Complex, for a few days now; though they'd moved out of the Great Hall on Day 5, they decided to return there for the night because they felt safe there. It seemed odd to Mu that Pix was so interested in foregoing safety and security for the unknown, but that was just their opinion.

"I have a feeling that things are going to get weird today," Pix said, addressing Mu. "We need to get moving so we don't get caught in anything bad."

Mu groaned. "Not again. We just moved the other day."

"Mu, you understand that the Gamemakers tend to target people who don't move, right? I mean, we can't be stagnant for so long. We've basically spent the entire Games being stagnant!"

Suddenly, the girls heard a familiar set of trumpets. Mu immediately processed that they weren't the Selection trumpets, and, thinking harder, recognized them from previous Games as the standard announcement trumpets.

This couldn't be good.

"Greetings, tributes!" The voice of Dorian Muir rang out through the castle. "Today is a very special day. You see, today is the coronation of the king and queen of this fine castle. And, as such, there will be a coronation feast. Now, the king and queen do not want you to be at the coronation, but they do acknowledge that you are living in the castle; therefore, they have set up a special feast for you afterwards, in exactly two hours. I will also note that your feast will include some crucial things for you, including replenished food supplies and more weapons, and not just the sharp ones.

"The feast will take place in the Great Hall. Please do not enter until after the king and queen have exited; entering earlier than that may result in severe consequences. I will notify you at that point. While we cannot force you to attend the feast, it would be very advisable not to miss it. Good luck, tributes, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

The last echoes of Dorian's voice petered out, leaving the castle in a nervous, tense silence. Pix and Mu looked at each other, then retreated into their own minds to think. After just moments, Mu had made up her mind: they weren't going to go. But she also was fairly confident that her decision would not be popular with her alliance mate.

She was right.

"We have to go to the feast," Pix said. "There's no way the Gamemakers would have set up a feast if there was anything but inaction. When the Gamemakers say, 'It would be advisable not to miss it,' it means we can't miss it. Let's go!"

"I don't want to, though! Feasts are recipes for death and disaster. I don't want to take any chances on this."

"But what if there's something super useful at the feast? Like something we could work together to code with. We're both smart, so I think that, if we could get our hands on some computer stuff, we could do pretty well."

"But if things go wrong, we could die. And I don't know about you, but I don't want to die."

Mu watched Pix think for a sec. "How about this," Pix suggested. "It seems that our mentors have been pretty good at watching us these Games. If they think that we should go into the Games, they'll send me a gift, and if they don't, they'll send you a gift."

"I guess that's good."

The girls waited for a while, trying to see if their mentors would listen to their request. They had no way of knowing that their idea would send Jones and Linus into a frenzy, trying to actually figure out the best advice to give their tributes. Finally, realizing that they had a limited amount of time to get a message across, they decided on a solution. Little did they know that that would make it worse.

A knock on the door of Pix and Mu's bedroom jerked them out of their thoughts. They saw a butler standing there, who said, "I have a package for Pix Drexel."

"Ha!" Pix said. "I got the package, so they're encouraging us to go to the feast."

"OK, but what's in the package?" Mu asked.

Pix opened the box. "It's… it's a pair of binoculars."

"So that's probably telling us that we should stay away from the feast and look from afar."

"But they sent the package to me."

"I think the contents are more important than who got the package."

"But we made a deal!"

The girls spent another fifteen minutes arguing before agreeing to stay in the room but to keep an eye on the feast that would be happening right outside the door. While both were reluctant to admit it, it was clear that the pressure of the Games was getting to them.

* * *

 _Peach Unk, 15, District Ten_

 _Location: Balcony of Great Hall, Third Floor_

* * *

Peach was totally ready to go. She was mad, she was fired up, and she just wanted to attack somebody. It was time to get some anger out at someone.

She was also, admittedly, fed up with her allies. She and Eloise did not get along, and Cheyenne wasn't helping her case out. It didn't matter that Cheyenne was also not helping Eloise's case; if someone wasn't with Peach, they were against her. And she was ready to focus on herself during the feast, as well as afterwards, if she survived.

Peach began to get ready for the feast. She didn't have all that much in her pack, but she did have her pitchfork, which was quite a good weapon. And she knew that she needed to get away from her alliance members so that she had a shot at actually surviving. So, while the other two girls weren't paying complete attention, she grabbed her bag and left. Peach wasn't really sure why she felt so guilty about leaving the girls, but she was trying her best not to focus on it; it was time to stay as focused as possible on the upcoming events. And hopefully getting another pitchfork.

Now, it was time to figure out where to station herself for the feast. Clearly, for things to be useful, she needed to be on the ground level, in the Great Hall. So, she made her way to the nearest staircase and quickly ran down, finding herself in the lower right hand corner of the first floor. The question was, to move into the Great Hall, or to wait there until she got the OK from Dorian? If she moved in now, she risked getting there too early, thereby violating Dorian's instruction. But if she waited too long, she could risk missing out on some of the bigger items at the feast; losing her second pitchfork to a Career would be disastrous.

After a moment of thinking, Peach found a compromise. She would move down the diagonal hallway towards the Great Hall, but not enter yet. That way, she could move immediately into the Great Hall when the feast began, and maybe even get a jump on the other tributes.

So, Peach moved slowly down the hallway, preparing to strike while the iron was hot. The rest of the Games began now, and she wanted to be around to witness them.

* * *

 _Janari Lovarre, 16, District Two_

* * *

The common room in the Selection house was abuzz. There was nothing that got people more excited, and more nervous, than a feast, and everyone was eagerly watching for it to begin. Janari sat anxiously on the couch, watching the tributes on screen prepare for the feast. It had been weird for her to watch the Games in general, because for the first time, she knew the kids who were dying. Even being from Two, where she usually knew who the volunteers were, she'd never been friends with any of them. Now, not only was she friends with one of them, but she knew all of them, and her sister's life was on the line.

And that was really scary.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Delilah standing above her, behind the back of the couch, completely unaware that Delilah had been there for at least twenty minutes. "How are you doing, Janari?"

"I'm doing OK," replied Janari. "A bit anxious, because Carissa. But I'm managing."

Delilah and Janari had become fast friends over the few days they'd spent together in the Selection house. They were really able to support each other over the heart-wrenching process of watching the Games, and knew that, regardless of the outcome, they'd remain friends, which was nice to know.

"Do you need me there?"

"If you want to stay, sure; today is probably going to be big. But I don't think I need you. Dania is here also, after all." Janari turned to Dania, who was sitting on the other side of the room, and smiled; Dania smiled back a bit shyly. The fear of losing loved ones had also bonded the two of them together, and while they weren't as close as Janari was with Delilah, they got along fairly well, as they had the same fear: losing a loved one.

"I might as well. I don't have anything better to do." Delilah took a seat on Janari's right. "Want to come closer, Dania? No? That's fine."

"Shh. The feast is about to start!"

Janari watched anxiously as the camera cut between the four main groups involved in the feast: Peach in one hallway, Carissa and Lavender in another, Eloise and Cheyenne in a third, and Pix and Mu in a room off of the Great Hall. It seemed that everyone was doing last-minute preparations for the feast, just seconds before it was to begin. The tension in the Arena was palpable, even from as far away as the Capitol. In the corner of the screen, a thirty second countdown popped up; when it reached zero, Dorian Muir announced to the tributes that the feast was beginning.

Immediately, Carissa darted towards the table smack in the middle of the room. Though she was not as fast of a runner as some of the other tributes, she was able to get there quickly enough to get her sword and, more importantly, control over the table. So, when Peach darted in just after Carissa, attempting to get her hands on a pitchfork, Carissa was able to block the approaches of the girls from Ten. The two began to fight, sword on Peach's other pitchfork. Janari held her breath as Peach's pitchfork poked her sister's stomach before Lavender's knife found its way into Peach's back. Peach slumped down to the floor, unconscious and bleeding heavily.

Lavender looked up to Carissa. "Can I decapitate her?"

"No. We have to focus on this feast. This ain't over yet!"

BOOM!

"Let's start by splitting up – you go left, I'll go right – and we'll check all the side rooms of this hall first. I'm not worried about getting supplies; once we clear out all of the tributes we have all of this to ourselves. Hurry! We don't have a lot of time!"

The screen suddenly switched to Mu and Pix in their room, anxiously trying to listen through the door for anything happening in the Games. Bellona, sitting on a stool behind the couch, shook her head. "Whenever they do editing like that, it means something is gonna happen to Mu and Pix. Lavender is gonna find their room and get one or both of them."

"How do you know?" asked Janari.

"Basics of editing. They're showing them so we can see their side of what happens when someone bursts into the door. I've seen enough of the Games to know this, especially living with a Victor who's lived for so long like Enobaria. There's usually a slight delay from action in the Arena on the live broadcast to allow them to choose their camera angles and stuff. So that's probably what's gonna happen."

Sure enough, just seconds later, the door to Pix and Mu's room burst open. Carissa caught sight of Mu first, and with laser focus, charged, knife out. Mu froze in their place, and stood defenseless as the knife entered her body right in her heart.

BOOM!

The camera cut again, this time to the Ten alliance. "Let's try this. If you run around to that hallway directly across from us we can run in from both sides and ambush. Go quickly!" Cheyenne nodded and ran around the Great Hall. Next, it shifted to a split-screen, so that the audience could see both girls at the same time. Eloise caught Cheyenne's eye across the room, counted down from three on her fingers, and both girls ran.

At the same time, Pix darted out of her room, away from whatever would be happening with Mu. She got to the table and scanned it for wires, or anything she could use to create something deadly. Eloise wasn't inherently nervous about Pix, so she decided to let her go, but when Pix started to pick up Eloise's rope, she got mad; that rope was meant for her! Without even thinking, Eloise used the lasso in her hand to rope Pix and pull her away from the table so she could get to her rope. But the adrenaline coursing through her veins meant that she couldn't quite control her rope like she normally could. The loop fell around Pix's neck; Eloise pulled hard, Pix wouldn't move towards her and, well…

BOOM!

Eloise was shell-shocked. Without thinking, she dropped the lasso and ran, pack still on her back, stranding Cheyenne and grabbing nothing for herself during the feast.

The cannon alerted Carissa to the presence of someone else in the room. She turned around and saw Cheyenne at the table of supplies, rifling through for the things she needed. Carissa knew that she was too far away to run towards Cheyenne and stab her, so she decided on another approach. She took a deep breath, took a few steps running, and threw her sword. It clonked Cheyenne in the head, and while it didn't impale her, it knocked her down to the ground. That gave Carissa enough time to get close to Cheyenne and stab her in the heart.

"Assuming that Eloise doesn't return, which I assume she won't," Harli broke in, "this would mark the end of the feast. Four deaths – I'd say that's fairly respectable, right, Dorian?"

"Yes, more than respectable, even; with only seven tributes eligible to participate, that's a large number to die, almost half! I don't know if the alliances helped or hurt that, but it's certainly remarkable that there were so many deaths."

Janari totally tuned out the TV, as well as the chatter and analysis that had become commonplace in the Selection house; while she didn't know the origin of the term "armchair quarterbacking," she knew that all of the Selection girls were doing exactly that by discussing how they would handle situations in the Games without ever being in them. She didn't think that throwing the sword at Cheyenne was necessarily the smartest idea, in case Cheyenne was good enough to catch the handle and use it as a weapon, but was altogether thrilled that Carissa had survived to the final seven. Now, only five more people had to die before she could hug her sister again.

* * *

 _Kills:_

 _Arieyn Occisor (D1): Tistera Leone (D8), Incredible Grant (D1) (Not Officially Listed as a Kill)_

 _Ravi Waterford (D1): Amaryllis Horne (D11), Narcissa Wilder (D11)_

 _Lavender Aroma (D1): Peach Unk (D10)_

 _Vixyn Kearne (D2): Drenaline Fisher (D6), Freida Muller (D7)_

 _Carissa Lovarre (D2): Muire Spencer (D3) Silver Flower (D8), Cheyenne Davanzo (D10)_

 _Ferrari Benz (D6): Ferrari Benz (D6) (not intended as suicide but listed as such)_

 _Frieda Muller (D7): Blaze Donohue (D1), Nanami Cascade (D4)_

 _Eloise LaBelle (D10): Pix Drexel, D3_

 _Nyx Mynier (D12): Elysia Hall (D6), Weave Flasherett (D8)_

 _Mutts: Drew Voltas (D3) (listed kill but not dead), Carina-Jean Laurent (C) (Not Officially Listed as a Kill)_

* * *

 _Alliances:_

 _The Lower/Middle/Whatever Pack or The Backup Plans: Lavender (D1), Carissa (D2)_

 _The Upper Pack: Arieyn (D1), Vixyn (D2)_

 _Loners:_ _Kylis (D9), Eloise (D10), Nyx (D12) {could still return to the Careers but is kind of stuck due to the wall}_

* * *

 _Locations of the Tributes at the End of Day Five_

 _Outside of the Castle_

 _Kylis: The Woods Outside of the Castle, Northern Side_

 _Nyx: The Woods Outside of the Castle, Eastern Side_

 _Upper Pack (Arieyn, Vixyn): The Woods Outside of the Castle, South-Western Side_

 _Inside the Castle_

 _Middle Pack (Lavender, Carissa): Great Hall Complex, First Floor_

 _Eloise: Upper Hallway, Second Floor_

* * *

 **Eulogies**

 **11** **th** **Place: Peach Unk, District Ten, Killed by Lavender**

 **Oh boy, Peach. She was honestly one of the more challenging tributes for me to write, solely because our personalities are so different. I really writing enjoyed her rebellious side and finding the little tiny happy things in her, and I really hope I managed to do her justice. Thanks, SilverflowerxRavenpaw, for Peach, and I hope you stick around to see everything else!**

 **{Family Fact: Though Peach and her father had a strained relationship, he would never forget his daughter. In fact, he would plant a peach tree in his front yard in her memory that would remain there long after his death.}**

 **10** **th** **Place: Muire Spencer, District Three, Killed by Carissa**

 **Mu was a challenge for me in a different way. She was the first tribute I've ever written that wasn't cisgender, and a genderfluid tribute at that! I definitely had my fair share of struggles with them, especially because I wanted to stick with they/them pronouns as much as possible, so I had to break out of my standard writing mode to do so. They really challenged me more than any other tribute I've ever written, and their personality was just so sweet and shy and like a cinnamon bun. Thanks, Celtic, for the amazingness of Mu, and I hope I did them justice; stick around to see if Pacifica can win the Selection!**

 **{Family Fact: For the first time in a while, Mu's parents were totally focused on them. It took a while to recover from the loss of their child, and they and Oswin would go out of their way to tend to Mu's grave.}**

 **9** **th** **Place: Pix Drexel, District Three, Killed by Eloise**

 **Pix was a fascinating character for me to write. She had a really different worldview than any other tribute I've ever written, just because she qualifies the world in such a different way than anyone I've ever met. I loved understanding the world through her computer-oriented eyes, and it was fun as someone who is also tech savvy to get to put myself in her shoes. Thanks, AleSt, for the awesomeness that is Pix, and I hope you keep reading for the sake of the Selection!**

 **{Family Facts: Pix's parents would forever mourn the loss of their programming prodigy. They would go through her collection of keys and create two custom keyboards out of them, so that they would always feel their daughter's presence while they were working.}**

 **8** **th** **Place: Cheyenne Davanzo, District Ten, Killed by Carissa**

 **I really enjoyed writing Cheyenne! I think I portrayed her much, much milder than as she was originally written in her form, but I really enjoyed the way that she turned out. She became such a sweet and kind sister with a great humor for District Ten, and I really loved getting to portray her in this story! Thanks for her, beauthg03, and I hope that you, too, stay around for the rest!**

 **{Family Fact: The cows did miss Cheyenne, in fact. It was difficult for the family to get around her absence, but they would manage somehow. Everyone would miss Cheyenne's help around the farm, and there would be a multitude of baby cows named after her.}**

* * *

 **Well, there we go – down to our final seven! For the record, I will not be doing Final Eight interviews because I don't like them. Congratulations to all of the submitters and tributes!**

 **So, what did you think of the feast? I hope I wrote it well – I've never done one before. What do you think is going to happen next?**

 **I think we'll be back to Games next, but I'm not sure. Don't forget to send me PMs about sponsor gifts and vote in the poll on my profile, and I'll see y'all next time!**

 **-goldie031**


	47. Games, Day 9: Sponsor Frenzy

**Don't forget to send me sponsor gift requests At this time, there will not be a new poll.**

 **On to the chapter!**

* * *

Things were a bit frenzied in the Games Headquarters. It was a well-known fact that, after the final eight Interviews, sponsor gift prices shot up. However, nobody had expected the feast to take the field down from eleven tributes to seven tributes. The shock from the previous day's feast prevented the mentors from thinking things through clearly, meaning they didn't send their tributes supplies afterwards, and moving down to the final seven tributes likely meant that the sponsor prices were too high for the Outer District mentors to afford.

But Sarah might have found a loophole.

"When are the final eight interviews going up?" asked Sarah Sheaf, Kylis's mentor from Nine.

"I don't think tonight," replied Damien O'Donnel, Twelve's winner of the 76th Games. "It's too quick of a turnover. The audience isn't expecting it."

"I don't think they care," Bat, Eloise's mentor, chimed in. "If the Capitol wants to shoot up our prices, they will. And if they don't want to, they won't. It's their call."

"Um, guys?" Tyranny said nervously. "Sponsor system's down."

Sarah groaned. The day before, she was all ready to give Kylis some of the things she knew the girl would need going into the finale of the Games; now, with higher prices, the distraction of the feast, and the sponsor system down now, there was no way she'd be able to give Kylis nearly as much. She could see, as she was looking around the room, that Damien and Bat were thinking the same thing, but the Career mentors weren't quite as concerned, because they had more steady sponsor funds.

Then, with no warning, Amethyst's voice piped into the room. "Mentors. We have decided that, because of the surprisingly fast approach of the Top Seven, we will be airing our Final Eight interviews tonight. Consequentially, the sponsor gift prices today will remain the same as they were yesterday. We do anticipate the prices rising tomorrow. Another important thing to know is that we have downsized the delivery system, so we will only be able to set up one delivery at a time, so the first gift imputed after my announcements will be the first delivered and so on; the final gift will be delivered at five in the afternoon. Good luck, mentors, and may the odds be ever in your favor."

Immediately, Bat and Damien typed a bunch of stuff into their consoles, clearly sending sponsor gifts. Arieyn's mother and mentor, Trienda, and Lavender's mentor, Tyranny, consulted for a moment before setting up a sponsor gift of their own, and the mentors from Two retreated from the room to have a quick pow-wow. But Sarah sat by herself, deep in thought, trying to find the best way to go.

Conflicting emotions of fear and relief ran through Sarah's veins. On the one hand, she now had the ability to give Kylis what she wanted. But, she also knew that she likely wouldn't be able to get everything in one package, meaning she'd have to send two gifts to her tribute; if she didn't know exactly how to handle things when the sponsor system went back online, she could lose out on her opportunity to support Kylis for the rest of her Games.

While she didn't want to burn her sponsor fund the next day, she wasn't sure if she had a better option. After all, she might not have another chance to send her tribute sponsor gifts; if there was ever a time to boost her to the end, now was it.

Meanwhile, the District Two mentors had retreated into another room to talk. "What are we going to do about the sponsor situation?" asked Crash Hatch, Vixyn's mentor and one of the Victors of the 100th Games. His sister and confidant, Smash, Carissa's mentor, Mesa Amura, and Arabelle Pick, Two's youngest Victor, were sitting with him at a table in Games Headquarters. They weren't freaking out about giving sponsor gifts; Carissa and Vixyn were so popular that they had more than enough funds. On the other hand, though, they wanted to do send some sort of sponsor gift, to make sure that their tributes knew that their mentors were there for them.

"I think," replied Smash, the smarter of the Hatch twins, "we have two options. We can either send things to both of our tributes, or we can wait and see what the District One mentors do."

"It's just annoying that our tributes aren't paired up," lamented Mesa. "It would be so much easier, because then we could just send them packages and not worry about what the One people are doing. But by sending our girls stuff, we might inadvertently help them out."

"But we also can't not send them stuff," retorted Crash. "Sure, we could wait because we have the money, but I don't know how much the prices will go up with only five more deaths before the finale. The tributes are getting ready for a final push; we need to help them get there."

"Maybe we can see what the One mentors are doing and ask them?" suggested Arabelle.

The other three looked at each other. "The way that the tributes are divided up in alliances this year, if we throw the One mentors a bone about what we're doing they could take advantage of it to help their tributes. Which is bad for us."

"Aha." Arabelle was already on the naïve side of Careers, and she had little concept of mentoring strategy not having mentored the year before.

After a few moments of silence and thought, Smash piped up. "I think One is sending a gift to Arieyn. They've sent quite a bit of stuff to Lavender – one just yesterday, one the fifth day, and one the second day – but they really haven't sent all that much over to Arieyn," she explained, scanning a piece of paper she'd been scribbling on. "Just that jar of white powder. I think Lav is the more popular tribute, so they're less worried about being able to sponsor her. On the other hand, Arieyn might not have as many sponsors, and so they might want to get one last gift in now before things get too expensive. So that means we should send our gift to Carissa. Then, we know both of our girls are covered: Vixyn has the gift Arieyn gets, and Carissa gets something too."

Crash smiled. "Good idea, Smash. That's why you're the smarter twin."

* * *

 _Eloise LaBelle, 16, District Ten_

 _Location: Upper Hallway, Second Floor_

* * *

Eloise couldn't believe that she'd actually managed to make the Top Seven. She knew that she had strength, but it was hard for her to believe that she was still alive. And she was quite happy about it.

Still pulling at her conscience, though, was the thought that she'd made a kill. With her hands and her rope, Eloise had taken a life. And she knew Pix; obviously, she didn't know the girl well, but she recognized her intelligence and capabilities in life. Taking it away was such a horrible thing to do; it was something she could never, ever shake.

But she had to refocus. Eloise could totally use her life to keep Pix's memory alive, but she had to survive for that to work. Unfortunately, that probably meant taking someone else's life in the process. She certainly hoped to avoid that, but if it came down to it, she would do whatever it took to get her home.

A knock on the door jerked Eloise out of her thoughts. She opened the door to find a butler standing there. "I have a package for Eloise LaBelle," he said. Eloise gingerly took the package off of his tray and closed the door. She sat down on the bed, took a deep breath, and opened it to find a rope inside. A smile crossed her face; when she ran from the feast, she hadn't registered until that night that her lasso wasn't with her; now, she had one again.

Then, she noticed a little crack between the side and bottom of the box. Carefully, she pried up the bottom to find two pieces of paper. The map that she found was less than useful at this stage of the Games, but the list of tributes was certainly helpful. Eloise scanned the list, filtering out the dead tributes and the alive ones. And what she found was kind of shocking to her.

Eloise had the lowest training score of anyone remaining in the Games.

She knew that Nyx had scored an eight, and remembered it being shocking to her. She also knew that the lowest score for any of the Careers was an eight. Kylis got a six – Eloise had no idea how she remembered that – and while that was only one point above Eloise's, the older girl from Nine was definitely a bit stronger than she. All of that combined meant that she was certainly the weakest tribute left in the Games.

But that didn't mean anything.

Eloise looked at her rope. Carefully, she formed a loop and threaded the other end of the rope through it, creating the familiar shape of a lasso. As she twirled it around her head, she became more and more determined.

It would be damn hard for her to win the Games. But she wasn't going down without a fight.

* * *

 _Nyx Mynier, 16, District Two_

 _Location: The Woods Outside of the Castle, Eastern Side_

* * *

Nyx was still dazed. And she knew that it was bad for her to be dazed for a third day in a row. But her head felt less heavy, which was a good thing.

Carefully, she used the tree to sit up, reacclimating herself to looking at the world correctly. Things spun a little bit, and the sun was still quite bright, but after some time, she adjusted to the brightness and the world's orientation. She also noticed that there were significantly fewer trees around her than there had been, and grass wasn't growing in their place. Clearly, something was about to happen, and she was admittedly a bit nervous to find out what that thing was.

Suddenly, she noticed a parachute fall literally right in front of her face. She held out her hands to catch it and opened it up, finding a blowgun and six darts, three red and three blue, plus a note that said, "You've got a good sponsor. Keep up the great work!" Nyx was certainly relieved, not only to see the note, but also because of the gift she got. Bombs were great and all, but they were much more labor-intensive than just blowing a dart. Now, she had a much more practical weapon, and one that she could use against any other tribute.

The only problem with it was figuring out which darts did what. At first glance, one would think that the red darts were the killing darts. _That's too easy_ , thought Nyx. _There's no way it's so simple. The blue darts must be the killing darts, and the red ones have some other sort of poison in them._

Remarkably, Nyx, in her not so great mental state, was able to distinguish another parachute coming down. She thought for a second it was for her as well, but then saw it fall out of view beyond the trees.

An idea came to her mind. She packed up her stuff, grabbed her blowgun, loaded it with a blue dart, and moved in the general direction of the parachute.

* * *

 _Vixyn Kearne, 18, District Two_

 _Location: The Woods Outside of the Castle, South-Western Side_

* * *

Vixyn had spent quite a few days now trying to figure out her ally's strategy. And, admittedly, she wasn't having as much luck as she would have liked. It seemed to Vixyn that Arieyn was trying to simultaneously get closer to and more distant from her, which was something she'd never seen any tribute try to do before. And that confused Vixyn. In all her years of watching Games, she'd never seen a tribute employ such an odd strategy.

It was probably because Arieyn was in love with her.

It took a little bit of effort for Vixyn to gain the capacity to love. That was standard for Careers. Often, trained tributes were able to hold on to that, but it seemed that with Arieyn, the emotions bottled up over her seventeen years of life were all bubbling out. Every time Arieyn looked at Vixyn, it reminded the red-head of a little kid looking into the pet store at the cute puppies; sure, the kid wanted them, but they knew their mother wouldn't buy one. And Arieyn certainly seemed to WANT Vixyn, but these were the Games, and both knew that that couldn't happen. Maybe if neither had entered the Games and they'd both been from the same district, they could be together, but that wasn't possible in these circumstances and on this path of life.

But now was not the time to dwell on any of that mushy-gushy, philosophical, metaphysical what have you. If she was off-guard at all, that could be her downfall.

Vixyn noticed a parachute coming down to land in her ally's lap. She felt a bit of a pit in her stomach. This was at least Arieyn's second sponsor gift, and Vixyn hadn't received one. Was there something about Arieyn that Vixyn didn't know? Or were the mentors so confident in Vixyn's position that they didn't feel she needed a sponsor gift? Vixyn didn't know, but she certainly wished that she did.

"What's in the box?" asked Vixyn.

"Not entirely sure. Do you know?" lied Arieyn.

Arieyn held up what was clearly a calculator. "I don't know either," Vixyn lied in response. "But I'm sure you'll figure it out.

(Vixyn didn't know that her mentors were scrambling in the Games Headquarters, trying to send her a sponsor gift, because the gift the One mentors had sent to Arieyn wouldn't be useful for Vixyn at all; in fact, it meant things were getting more dangerous.)

After a time, Vixyn felt a stabbing pain in her back, causing her to jump up and grab her hatchet. Without thinking, she turned around and threw the hatchet towards whatever had hit her. Even Vixyn was surprised to see that Nyx was there; she thought the prick had come from a mutt, not a human. Vixyn threw a second hatchet for good measure, just to make sure that the cannon fired, which it promptly did.

BOOM!

"Nice kill, Vixyn," said Arieyn nervously.

"Thanks." Vixyn replied. She suddenly sat down again; her vision was getting a big fuzzy, and her head was spinning. After all, she was only wearing a cotton t-shirt; whatever was in the thing that pricked her definitely penetrated her skin. "What's in my back?" she exclaimed.

Arieyn jumped up and looked at Vixyn's back. She carefully pulled out a blue dart. "So, this could be worse. Any poison tribute would know that red darts are the ones that kill; the blue darts have some form of other poison in it, but we don't usually know what it is. So you're not dead, but there may be some unpleasant side effects for the next few days. Stay here; I'll go raid Nyx's pack."

As her ally disappeared, Vixyn retreated into thought again. As they got closer and closer to the end, it was apparent that her alliance with Arieyn couldn't last much longer. But when was the right time to break it off?

* * *

 _Kylis Divola, 18, District Nine_

 _Location: The Woods Outside of the Castle, Northern Side_

* * *

 _There are only six tributes left,_ realized Kylis. _Wow._

It was quite the confidence booster for Kylis to be so far in the Games. With every second that passed, she was that much closer to getting back to Dania. And that was exciting and invigorating, and gave her the courage to keep on.

At the same time, though, Kylis was a bit nervous about returning to Nine. Sure, going home would be great. But the dynamic of her relationship with Dania would invariably shift. After all, being a Victor, she'd be forced into the public eye, and Dania would too. Her quiet, sweet girlfriend wouldn't be able to handle it. Plus, their breakup/makeup thing might have put unnecessary strain on the relationship on Dania's part, and even if they got through the year after victory, who knew whether it could last?

Kylis shook herself out of it. She couldn't focus on winning only for Diana; she also needed to focus on getting back to her mother. The two certainly had their ups and downs, but when push came to shove, they were devoted to each other. If Kylis couldn't completely devote herself to getting home for Dania, she could completely devote herself to getting home for her mother.

Suddenly, she saw a parachute come down from the sky. In it, she found water, some jerky, water, and a knife, plus a note that said, "Another package hopefully coming." She wasn't sure how much time passed between then and when she got the second package, which contained a sleeping bag. Kylis's confidence shot up again; to get this much this late in the Games meant that she had pretty strong sponsors. And more likely than not, those sponsors were rooting for her because of her relationship with Dania. So she had to push on for Dania. And for her mother.

At least, it seemed that she had the people behind her to do so.

* * *

 _Carissa Lovarre, 18, District Two_

 _Location: Great Hall Complex, First Floor_

* * *

The day was winding down in the Arena, and Lavender and Carissa were kind of happy to take a day off from hunting tributes. After all, there had been four deaths the previous day, and with the additional one today, the onus was off of their shoulders. That was certainly a relief for them; it was nice to know that they could pause and recuperate. And Carissa knew the best way to handle a "day off," so to speak.

"Hey Lavender?"

"Yes, Carissa?"

"Can we go over the tribute list and make sure we know who's where?"

"I don't know if we'll know who is where exactly, but sure. Let's take a look at it."

Lavender and Carissa both pulled out their tribute lists from prior sponsor gifts. "So the only seven left," Carissa began, "are the two of us, Arieyn, Vixyn, Kylis, Eloise, and Nyx."

"But one of them died," Lavender clarified. "I don't know which one, though."

"And we know that the two of us are in here, as is Eloise."

The two fell silent. "Do we know anything else?"

"Nope. Not really. I'd assume that nobody else is in the castle, because they would have come to the feast. But you never know, you know? Someone could have such strong sponsors that they don't need the feast."

At that exact moment, a butler came into the Great Hall. Lavender reached for the box, but jerked her hand back. "The box zapped me!" she exclaimed.

The butler mutt, however, kept his cool. "I have a package for Carissa Lovarre," he clarified. The older girl carefully took the fairly large box off of the butler's tray, then set it on the floor. After the butler left, Carissa opened it to find water, some jerky, and two blankets inside.

"Maybe we've got those strong sponsors."

"Yeah."

The two had some of the food they got from the feast for dinner, then just sat around waiting for the anthem. Carissa was a bit sad to see Nyx's face in the sky, but not too sad or surprised; even a strong girl from Twelve didn't really have a chance against the four remaining Careers.

"We should get some sleep," Carissa suggested to Lavender. "I have a feeling there's something coming, and we should be storing up for it."

"Yeah." The two girls moved to a side room and got into a bed. Lavender curled up next to Carissa's side; Carissa remembered when she and her sister were younger and cuddled together and was pleased to feel the same thing with the young one. A moment later, though, Lavender turned around so she was facing Carissa. "Hey Carissa?"

"Yes?"

"Does our Final Two deal still hold?"

The question caught Carissa off-guard. She took a second to think and make sure that the answer she gave really benefited her. _Of course I'll bring her,_ thought Carissa. _But there's no reason for me to tell her otherwise. Telling her no would only be a bad move for me, because she could stab me in the back. Plus, she'd be easy to beat._

"Yes, Lavender. The deal still holds."

* * *

 _Kills:_

 _Arieyn Occisor (D1): Tistera Leone (D8), Incredible Grant (D1) (Not Officially Listed as a Kill)_

 _Ravi Waterford (D1): Amaryllis Horne (D11), Narcissa Wilder (D11)_

 _Lavender Aroma (D1): Peach Unk (D10)_

 _Vixyn Kearne (D2): Drenaline Fisher (D6), Freida Muller (D7), Nyx Mynier (D12)_

 _Carissa Lovarre (D2): Muire Spencer (D3) Silver Flower (D8), Cheyenne Davanzo (D10)_

 _Ferrari Benz (D6): Ferrari Benz (D6) (not intended as suicide but listed as such)_

 _Frieda Muller (D7): Blaze Donohue (D1), Nanami Cascade (D4)_

 _Eloise LaBelle (D10): Pix Drexel, D3_

 _Nyx Mynier (D12): Elysia Hall (D6), Weave Flasherett (D8)_

 _Mutts: Drew Voltas (D3) (listed kill but not dead), Carina-Jean Laurent (C) (Not Officially Listed as a Kill)_

* * *

 _Alliances:_

 _Well, Now They're Really Separated:_ _Arieyn, Lavender (D1); Carissa, Vixyn (D2)_

 _-The Lower/Middle/Whatever Pack or The Backup Plans: Lavender (D1), Carissa (D2)_

 _-The Upper Pack: Arieyn, Ravi (D1), Vixyn (D2)_

 _Loners:_ _Kylis (D9), Eloise (D10)_

* * *

 _Locations of the Tributes at the End of Day Five_

 _Outside of the Castle_

 _Kylis: The Woods Outside of the Castle, Northern Side_

 _Upper Pack (Arieyn, Vixyn): The Woods Outside of the Castle, South-Western Side_

 _Inside the Castle_

 _Middle Pack (Lavender, Carissa): Great Hall Complex, First Floor_

 _District Ten (Cheyenne, Eloise, Peach): Upper Hallway, Second Floor_

* * *

 **Eulogies**

 **7** **th** **Place: Nyx Mynier, District Twelve, Killed by Vixyn.**

 **Oh, Nyx came so close here! For a Twelve girl, she did quite well for herself, and at least got to use one bomb. I really enjoyed writing someone who didn't come into the Games by direct means, and a non-Sue, strong Twelve female was a real treat, even if she maybe didn't get the most dramatic or pointed death. But they can't all be like that, right? Thanks, Xechasate, for this awesome lady, and stick around to see how things play out with Vixyn!**

 **{Family Fact: The kids in the orphanage really missed Nyx's positive presence in the orphanage, but not too much, because orphans cycled in and out all the time. But she was also missed by the Victors, as she was one of Twelve's best shots for Victors in a long while. Nyx's strategy would also begin a shift towards a preferred weapon for the people from Twelve.}**

* * *

 **Yay! I got another chapter up! I think updates will pick up from here as well; I just told someone that I think I'll have Games Victors by the end of the month, which is a very exciting prospect.**

 **So, what do you think? This was a bit of a lead-up chapter towards the finale of the Games, so not much action happened. What is going to propel the Games into the finale? Who is in the best place to win? Who do you think the tributes think is in the best place to win (remember that they don't think there will be two Victors)?**

 **I might be able to get another chapter up tomorrow or Friday, and yes, something is happening. Catch you then!**

 **-goldie031**


	48. Games, Day 10 into 11: Finale, Part 1

**As we are beginning the finale sequence of the Games, I will no longer be delivering sponsor gifts. Additionally, I will not include kills, alliances, or locations at the end of this chapter, and I will be doing epilogues of the sixth through third place tributes at the end of the finale, once Victors are declared.**

* * *

"Good morning, Amethyst. Congratulations on getting to the tenth day!"

"Thank you, Ruby! At least these Games are longer than the last Quell."

"And the Capitol audience seems to be liking it as well, which is always nice. Let's go into your office."

Amethyst and Ruby moved into the office of the Head Gamemaker. Amethyst was nervous; Ruby calling a meeting with her was probably a bad thing.

"So what do you want, sis?"

"I think we need to expedite the end of the Games."

Amethyst groaned. "Why? The audience is loving the Games, they're moving at a good pace, and there was a death yesterday."

"Yes, but here's my issue," Ruby explained. "I need Garnet to start making decisions. I know his intention is not to do anything until the Games end, and I really would like him to actually have a wife by the Victory Tour and his 19th birthday."

"Ruby, you can't force this," urged Amethyst. "Love is something that comes organically, or at least it should. We never got to experience it because we were married off. When Garnet is ready to start making decisions, he'll start making decisions. Garnet will know when he finds the person, regardless of how many girls are in the picture. Plus, the Capitolites are so excited for the Selection that however long it takes, they'll stick with it. Garnet has grown up in front of their eyes, and they're going to hang on to him finding a wife for as long as they can."

"But I don't think that their interest will hold for a year, which is where this could go. Things need to keep happening with the Selection for the Selection to keep being a thing."

"If it goes a year, it goes a year. You have to let it go."

Ruby paused for a moment. "Maybe you're right."

"I often am. Now, I do have an endgame plan of sorts, Ruby. It's not exactly endgame, but it'll get us much closer and could get us there today or tomorrow. After our conversation, if you still think it's a good idea, I'm willing to put it into use. Would you like me to put the plan into action?"

Amethyst watched her sister think through a lot of possible scenarios. Admittedly, there were advantages to keeping the endgame plan for a little while longer; these Games were going really well, and it would be beneficial to keep them going a bit longeer. But with only six tributes left, and them so spread out at that, getting kills to happen in the reasonable future would require some outside assistance. And it would be a good idea to keep the momentum going and end the Games on a high note.

"I think we should go for it," said Ruby. "Let's keep the momentum going. I wouldn't mind if we had a Victor today."

Amethyst nodded. "It's an afternoon plan. So after lunch, we'll put the plan into motion, but we'll start laying the groundwork this morning."

"Sounds good."

* * *

 _As can be expected, the morning passed by fairly slowly, and was focused on preparation for what was to come. In the castle, Carissa and Lavender took inventory of their supplies to get a sense of what they had going into what they assumed was the final phase of the Games. Eloise practiced working with her lasso, hoping she was ready for whatever was coming. Outside of it, Arieyn and Vixyn, in an awkward state of quasi-allies but not wanting to be anywhere near each other for fear of what the other would do, moved due south of the castle, directly across from its gates. Kylis elected to stay on the northern end of the castle, away from the gates; she figured that, if something were to draw tributes towards the castle, she'd be best to avoid the mass of tributes and move towards it later on. And so, the stage was set for the Games to come to an end in a remarkable way. But would they?_

* * *

 _Eloise LaBelle, 16, District Ten_

 _Location: Upper Hallway, Second Floor_

* * *

Eloise was a little bit nervous. There was a sense of calm about the castle, almost like the middle of the hurricanes she was sometimes able to see because of where she lived in Ten. It was an eerie calm, the kind where you knew it wasn't going to end well but there was nothing you could do about it.

And Eloise hated it.

She knew full-well that things had to be happening soon. On the tenth day of the Games there were just six tributes left, and the Capitol would certainly want that pace to keep going. Plus, four of the six remaining tributes were Careers, and Eloise didn't have to keep reminding herself that her training score was lowest of everyone's; those kinds of thoughts just kept lowering her morale.

Eloise kept working with her lasso, using its familiar feel to give her a sense of comfort. It was now more than ever that she longed for her banjo, the feeling of the metal strings on her fingers as she strummed all night long. She'd never been away from home this long, and she longed to be able to see her Maw and Paw again.

Something was happening outside. Eloise could tell because the castle started shaking again. And her nerves shot up. She felt unsafe on the second floor of the castle; during tornado drills at school, she was taught that the safest place was as close to the ground as possible, ideally under an archway. Plus, what were the odds she'd run into Lavender and Carissa on the first floor anyway? The castle was so big and there were only three of them.

Quickly and carefully, Eloise packed up her stuff and found her way to the closest staircase. She carefully made her way down, then paused to think; where in the castle was an archway?

The entrances to the Great Hall.

Being that she was already in the upper left corner of the castle, it was easy for Eloise to run down the hallway to the Great Hall. When she got there, she sat down, curled up in a ball, and put her hands over her neck.

Fortunately or unfortunately for Eloise, depending on how you look at it, her positioning was such that she never saw Carissa approach from behind and stick a sword into Eloise's back.

BOOM!

* * *

 _Lavender Aroma, 12, District One_

 _Location: Great Hall Complex, First Floor_

* * *

"Can I decapitate her? Please? Please? Please?"

Lavender was desperate for a decapitation. There were only five tributes left now, after all, and Carissa would never let her decapitate Arieyn or Vixyn, because of Career's Honor. So she really only had two more chances to decapitate anyone: Eloise, whom Carissa had just killed, or Kylis, who was nowhere to be found.

"No, Lavender, you can't," Carissa insisted. "Something is off to me with the way Eloise is positioned. See? Curled in a ball, arms around her neck… that's tornado drill positioning if I've ever seen it."

"You have tornadoes in Two?" Lavender asked, amazed (and distracted from her goal of beheading Eloise).

"Not frequently," Carissa explained as she led the younger tribute towards the other end of the hallway, "but occasionally, and we have to be ready for them if they do come. And I know they also do tornado drills in Ten. Eloise is smart; if she was prepping for a tornado, we need to be ready for one too."

"How do you know if a tornado is coming?"

"The sky looks weird, like pea-green, and it's very cloudy and windy. Let's see if we can find a window and I'll see if it looks like a tornado. Follow me and stay low to the ground."

"What about our supplies?"

"I'd rather have our lives."

Carissa and Lavender crawled down the lower left diagonal hallway, then crawled along the lower hallway towards the main gates of the castle. When they got to the gates, Carissa motioned to Lavender to stay down, and she carefully stood up to see what was happening outside.

"What's going on out there, Carissa?"

"Well, I can see outside, which is the first red flag. Remember the wall?"

"Yeah. We saw it when we climbed up the tower two days ago."

"Now it's not there."

"That's odd. Is the sky tornado-colored?"

"Nope. Bright blue."

"So the rumbling Eloise heard was probably the wall coming down. Let me look out the door for a sec. Stay there."

Lavender watched as Carissa opened one of the large doors and peeked out outside. She looked left and right, then squinted forward. Immediately, Carissa slammed the door shut and turned to her younger ally.

"Lavender, something is happening. Just the one section of the wall came down, the one right in front of the door; everything else is still up. I thought I saw horses moving towards the castle, which isn't good. Go find a room down here and stay low to the ground. I'll move up to the second floor; the odds of either of us dying are slimmer if we split up."

"But what about supplies?" Lavender asked, alarmed.

"Not our concern now. Staying alive is our concern. Do you have your pack on you?"

"Yes. With a knife or two."

"Good. Stay safe. Good luck."

The two shared an embrace. Lavender had a hunch that this would be the last time she saw Carissa for a while. They broke apart, Carissa running to the stairway and Lavender running to the upper hallway of the first floor, finding herself into a room directly across from the doors.

Now it was just a waiting game. And she certainly hoped she wouldn't be hearing Carissa's cannon that night.

* * *

 _Elizah Klepper, 16, District Seven_

* * *

"I have a feeling that Dania's going to need some extra support today," Elizah remarked to Singer, the two sitting behind the couch as normal. Nowadays, the couch in front of the TV was reserved for the girls from districts that had living tributes, and Dania and Janari rarely left it.

"Why do you say that?" Singer asked, tatting a doily as normal.

"I don't know for sure, obviously, but with the way things look in the Arena, it seems that something is going to happen outside of the castle, especially because Carissa and Lavender will never kill each other. And because Arieyn and Vixyn are south, but Kylis is in the north, I doubt whatever happens will happen involving all three of them at the same time."

"Interesting thought." The two paused for a moment. "What are you drawing?"

"Just doodling. I like doodling while watching stuff." Elizah looked down at the paper, and found that she had been drawing one big circle for ten minutes. Oh, well.

The sound of war trumpets drew Elizah's attention to the screen. She watched as horses carrying soldiers began to approach the castle in droves, one large group coming from each direction.

First, the camera flashed to Arieyn and Vixyn's location. The two had been moving around, and so their stuff was already packed up, easy to grab. As the girls were just south of the castle's doors and therefore the only gap in the wall, it was quite easy for them to get there ahead of the horses, even though Vixyn seemed to be stumbling a bit. Once both girls were in, the gap in the wall closed behind them, causing rumbling through the Arena once again. Nobody wanted to say it, but Elizah had a feeling they were all thinking the same thing: _That can't be good._

Then, the camera switched over to Kylis. Instantaneously, the tension in the room increased; while there were varying opinions of Dania, everyone knew that she'd freak out if anything happened to her girlfriend. And if the broadcast had made a point of showing that Arieyn and Vixyn had made it safely, things didn't look good for the girl from Nine.

Kylis was quite relaxed; her stuff was spread out, and she was still resting in her sleeping bag. Suddenly, the sound of hooves was audible. Kylis jerked up, and desperately tried to get out of the sleeping bag, but it was too late. The horsemen, holding spears, battle axes, and crossbows, thundered through the forest – or what was left of the forest – without regard for what came under them. Hoof after hoof trampled Kylis, leaving her not much more than a bloody pulp on the forest floor.

BOOM!

Everyone immediately turned to Dania out of concern. The girl from Nine darted out of the room, tears already dripping down her face. Melvina, Dania's closest confidant, immediately followed her, leaving sixteen girls to watch the rest of the Games.

"Somebody should go follow her," suggested Janari, "just to make sure she's OK."

"Melvina already went, though," Thyra pointed out.

"But it's Melvina. I don't want her to be too pushy about the love thing."

"So who should go?"

Everyone slowly turned to Elizah. "Me?" Elizah asked shyly.

"Yeah," Janari said. "You get people better than anyone here, and you pick up on thing really well. I think you should try."

"OK," Elizah concluded hesitatingly.

"Good luck," offered Delilah, as Elizah got up to leave the room. "I doubt she'd be anywhere except her suite."

Elizah, drawing pad in hand, left the room and carefully moved towards Dania's room. While she didn't know her way around the whole complex, all four of the suites for the ladies were near each other; Elizah figured out which one was Dania's because she heard the poor girl sobbing. She carefully pushed the door open, finding Dania lying face-down on the couch in the suite's common room, Melvina rubbing her back.

"Dania, don't worry," Melvina said. "There'll be someone else you love someday. Kylis won't be the only one."

"Melvina!" Elizah snapped. "Stop. Back away."

"But why? I'm helping her."

"No, you're not! See, she's still crying."

"Fine, then," Melvina scoffed. "You try."

Melvina moved away from the couch, allowing Elizah to sit on the middle section. "How are you doing, Dania?"

"I miss Kylis!" Dania sobbed. "And I'm never gonna see her again because she's gone. She's dead and I could have done so much more to save her!"

Elizah took a pause to allow Dania to get her emotions out a bit. She recognized that the girl was totally distraught, and unlike Melvina, didn't want to try to tell her anything when she wasn't ready, because then she'd never hear it. After a few moments, Dania seemed to calm down a bit, and Elizah continued.

"Dania, you couldn't have done more at all. This entire thing was out of your control in so many ways. And whether you volunteered or not, whatever happened, the final decision was Garnet's."

Dania sobbed again. "Life isn't worth living without Kylis in it!"

"But Dania, Kylis will always be in it."

Dania lifted her head up. "How can Kylis always be in my life if she's dead?"

"Because she'll always be here and here," Elizah smiled, pointing to Kylis's head and heart. "As long as you live, you'll always have Kylis, because someone who is such a significant part of your life never leaves it. And if you give up on life, there's nobody to talk to about Kylis's legacy, and nobody to carry on her name and memory like you can." Dania's sobs slowly turned to whimpers. "It doesn't mean you can't be sad. Losing someone hurts. But if you give up on life and everyone because of one loss, you lose the ability to make a difference in that person's memory, or to do the great things that I know you can do.

"I'll leave you alone for now. Don't rush it; let yourself feel what needs to be felt." Elizah stood up and motioned to Melvina to step outside with her.

"How did you do that?" Melvina asked.

"I have my ways. Can you stay in the suite for a while until she feels better? Maybe not in the room she's in."

"Sure. I don't mind. I can keep working on the book."

"Thank you." Melvina went back into the suite, and Elizah went back to the common room. When she got there, everyone's heads turned to her as she took her seat and opened her drawing pad.

"How'd it go?" asked Delilah.

"It went OK. She stopped sobbing after a time, and it'll be a while until she's really ready to handle people, but I think she'll be alright eventually."

"I'm impressed. I wouldn't have been able to calm her down. You did good, Elizah. You did good."

* * *

 _The rest of the afternoon in the Arena passed without incident. Lavender and Carissa remained in their rooms on the first and second floor, respectively, while Arieyn and Vixyn took control of the Great Hall, surprised at the amount of supplies there. Feeling comfortable with their position, they decided to rest for the night, eating a quick dinner of sorts and then getting ready for bed. But comfort only lasts so long in the Hunger Games…_

* * *

 _Arieyn Occisor, 17, District One_

 _Location: Great Hall Complex, First Floor_

* * *

There were only four tributes left. And Arieyn was pretty sure she had victory locked up.

If the other two tributes were outliers, they'd be easy to knock out even if she didn't have poison darts. And said darts would do their job with other Careers as well. At this stage, she felt that she was pretty much unstoppable.

The problem was that she was sure any other living Career felt the same thing. Every Career had a weapon that could easily kill any other Career, and most of the others used weapons that were sharp and could cut a limb off. It was kind of hard to shoot a poison dart with a leg cut off due to blood loss.

So it was time to act. She needed to take out the person she knew would be a threat before she handled the unknown. And as much as that hurt her, that person was Vixyn.

Arieyn had a plan ready to go. While one might think that her plan was stupid, Arieyn had her own logic for doing what she was doing: she couldn't bring herself to backstab the person for whom she had feelings. So if she was going to kill her, she would at least be upfront about it.

The good thing was that Nyx's poison was still working its way through Vixyn's system. Arieyn was fairly sure that she knew that poison; it took three or four days to really get all the way through, and made the victim mostly incapable of accurate judgement. So Arieyn was pretty sure that, if she carried out the plan the next day, she'd be golden.

But, the plan hinged on her math. Arieyn hoped that she'd done her math right; she didn't know what it would feel like to overdose on this poison, because nobody had ever lived to tell the tale. The calculator helped figure things out, but she wouldn't know if her calculations were accurate thanks to Creddi; losing two doses had totally screwed her over.

So, she went through the supplies left behind by whoever had previously inhabited the great hall until she found exactly what she was looking for: two canteens. She filled each with some juice, then made sure that they each had the same amount. She carefully opened up her pack and took out her unopened jar of white powder, the very poison to which she'd been building up resistance when Creddi screwed her over. Very delicately, she counted out a number of grains of the powder and placed them into a small pouch that came in the package. Then, she filled both canteens with water and placed them on the table.

Arieyn tried to go to sleep that night. She really tried. But the weight of what she was going to do the next day kept her from being able to sleep soundly. She cursed her emotions for coming out at literally the worst time ever, when being emotional could mean the end of her life. But she instinctively knew that emotions weren't things that should be restricted, despite what her mother said…

As the thoughts swirled in her head, Arieyn fell into an uneasy and very light sleep.

She woke up in the morning before Vixyn, as she wanted, so that she could set up. Arieyn took the two canteens and placed them across from each other on a nice table she found in the Great Hall. Then, she woke Vixyn up.

"Good morning, Arieyn."

"Good morning, Vixyn. I would like to challenge you to a battle of wits."

"And what's on the line?"

"Our lives."

"So I see you're ready to move towards the end of the Games, huh?"

"Let's be honest. Both of us could easily beat the two remaining tributes, whoever they are. Whoever wins this battle of wits basically wins the Games. You down?"

Arieyn watched Vixyn think for a second. She seemed to be processing her ally's betrayal, which she had to have seen coming, and the chances of winning in the battle of wits not knowing what it was.

"I'm down for it. What's your challenge?"

Arieyn led Vixyn to the two canteens. She motioned for the girl from Two to sit on one side of the table, and she sat on the other. Arieyn, having rehearsed her speech for ages, took the jar out from her pack and, unscrewing the jar, began to speak.

"Take the jar and smell it. But be very careful."

"I smell nothing."

"What you do not smell is called iocane powder. It is odorless, tasteless, and one of the most deadly poisons known to man. I will put a certain amount of the powder in one of these canteens, either the one in front of me or the one in front of you. All you have to do to win the battle of wits is choose right. Understood?"

"Understood."

Arieyn took the canteens from off the table, turned around, and carefully set up the canteens. Then, she turned back around and placed them onto the table, lids screwed on tightly. "Now make your choice."

Arieyn observed Vixyn, who was carefully looking at the canteens. Vixyn picked them up one at a time, analyzing the status of the lids and the weight of the bottles. Once they were both replaced on the table, she took a pause to think for a while, then made her choice. "I choose the one in front of me."

The two girls took their canteens. Arieyn looked Vixyn directly in the eye as they unscrewed the lids.

"Good luck, Vixyn."

"You too, Arieyn."

And with that, still looking each other in the eye, they drank…


	49. Games, Day 11: Finale, Part 2

"Hey Amethyst?" Sami Rolo asked, watching Arieyn prepare for whatever she was planning. It was early enough in the morning that only three Gamemakers were in the Gamemakers' Center: Luna Yerach, the night guard, Amethyst Emerald, and Sami Rolo, Amethyst's most trusted Gamemaker. And they were all a bit nervous.

"Yes, Sami?"

"What do we do if Arieyn and Vixyn kill each other?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's so early in the morning for a Games to come to a climax. And Carissa and Lavender are split up. Didn't we want to do something dramatic with the final two tributes?"

Amethyst took a deep breath. "Sami, I have a plan. We have the ability to control sound going in to each room of the Arena separately, so that takes care of that. And usually when there are four tributes, we cut off the constant feed so we can control the depiction of the Victor and the announcement and all that stuff. So I'm really not worried. We've got this under control."

"OK. I just don't want to have a poor finale to these Games, which seem to be popular."

"What editing can do is amazing, especially. Because we never change the lighting in the castle. Don't worry, we'll figure this out." _I hope._

* * *

 _Khara Imperium, 15, District Five_

* * *

"We're getting a Victor today," proclaimed Danira as Khara entered the common room. As usual, Khara was one of the last to come into the room; at the beginning, she wasn't concerned because nobody from her district was at risk, and that had just carried on to the rest of the Games. Before answering Danira, Khara took a moment to scan the room. She noticed that Dania and Melvina weren't there, which was to be expected after the previous day's events, and neither was Pacifica, which had become the norm. Janari, sitting directly in front of the TV, was all jittery, and there was palpable tension in the room.

"How do you know that?" Khara responded.

"They cut out the live broadcast. They seem to just be doing analysis and recaps all day today. I don't know if there'll be a Victor live tonight or if it'll be pretaped and uncut or if it'll be edited or what, but that's what we're seeing."

"And how's Janari?"

"I'M DOING GREAT. JUST FINE!" Janari exclaimed, clearly failing at her attempt to stay calm.

"I see." Khara turned back to Danira. "How's everyone else doing?"

"A bit tired of Janari's anxiety. But we're doing OK. Some of us are rotating around checking on Dania, just to make sure she's doing better. Everyone will probably be in better spirits when the Games end…"

"...which is probably happening tonight, leading to Janari's nerves. And I'm sure Dania doesn't want to be anywhere near Janari. It's gonna be interesting if Carissa wins."

"You can say that again."

Khara debated for a moment how to handle things. She could leave things alone and kind of let things play out as they may over the course of the day, but something in her told her that Janari needed support. So, she took a seat on the couch next to Janari and patted her on the back. "Take a deep breath, Janari. Just let everything out to me. I can take it."

"I'm just… I'm worried about Carissa."

"But that's natural, Janari."

"I know. But she's separated from Lavender, which is a bad move because Arieyn and Vixyn are left. The two are so much stronger together, and Arieyn and Vixyn are certainly capable of taking those two out. Plus, that's the whole idea of the Final Two deal; they protect each other."

"So you like their pact?"

"I wouldn't like it if there was only one Victor. Because I do think Carissa would sacrifice herself for Lavender if it came to it. But because there are two Victors, it's such a good thing, because Lavender helps to give Carissa a bit of support where she's lacking. Lav is definitely the smarter of the two, and she has some brawn to supplement Carissa who has some strength but not a ton of strength. But with them split…"

"But Carissa's on the second floor."

"I know, but you never know what the other Careers were gonna do. If Arieyn and Vixyn don't turn on each other, they'll hunt for Lav and Carissa, and then Carissa's dead. If they split by district lines, Arieyn could still easily get Carissa. So I just don't know. It worries me. I want her back!"

"I know. Hey, if you need to talk to someone later on, I'm here for you, OK? And I'm sure Delilah and Elizah would agree with me as well."

Janari nodded. "Thank you."

The day passed by slowly and anxiously in the Selection house. While only Janari really had a person to root for, everyone from One and Two wanted honor for their districts. Plus, everyone wanted all of the girls in the Games to win; they'd spent time together before the Games, and it was really the first time that any of them had a vested interest in any individual tribute winning apart from simply district loyalty. So, they passed the day doing more lanyards. By lunch, they were bored, until they found a big bucket of multi-colored plastic beads and some pegboards on the table in the common room. Quickly, they figured out that they could use the beads to make patterns on the pegboards, then (at Singer's suggestion) ironed the patterns to fuse them together, making cool little plaques of sort. The art project was a little bit childish, but just fun enough to tide the girls over until the evening broadcast started.

Around six in the evening, the anthem blared, indicating the start of the broadcast. Dania decided to come out of her room to watch with the other ladies, her face still tear-stricken; she settled on a small side couch and curled up next to Elizah, who rubbed the girl from Nine's back. Their relationship was platonic but friendly, almost sisterly, and Dania was ever-thankful for Liza's support. Pacifica, however, was still nowhere to be found; it was as if she didn't want to acknowledge that the Games were happening and that there was a Victor.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to tonight's broadcast. I'm Harli Saleman."

"And I'm Dorian Muir. We're getting down to the wire, ladies and gentlemen! With just four tributes left, things are getting down to the wire. We're not going to do more analysis – you've seen that all day – so we'll just get right to the action."

The screen showed Arieyn standing above Vixyn, who was sitting on the ground in a pile of supplies. "I would like to challenge you to a battle of wits," said Arieyn.

"And what's on the line?" replied Vixyn.

"Our lives."

"So I see you're ready to move towards the end of the Games, huh?"

"Let's be honest. Both of us could easily beat the two remaining tributes, whoever they are. Whoever wins this battle of wits basically wins the Games. You down?"

As Vixyn thought, Khara felt Janari tense up, even though she was sitting a decent distance from her. Clearly, this battle of wits would have a major impact on her life.

"I'm down for it," Vixyn concluded. "What's your challenge?"

Arieyn led Vixyn to a table on which two canteens were placed. She motioned for the girl from Two to sit on one side of the table, and she sat on the other. Arieyn, having rehearsed her speech for ages, took the jar out from her pack and, unscrewing the jar, began to speak.

"Take the jar and smell it. But be very careful."

"I smell nothing."

"What you do not smell is called iocane powder. It is odorless, tasteless, and one of the most deadly poisons known to man. I will put a certain amount of the powder in one of these canteens, either the one in front of me or the one in front of you. All you have to do to win the battle of wits is choose right. Understood?"

"Understood."

Arieyn took the canteens from off the table, turned around, and carefully set up the canteens. Then, she turned back around and placed them onto the table, lids screwed on tightly. "Now make your choice."

Arieyn observed Vixyn, who was carefully looking at the canteens. Vixyn picked them up one at a time, analyzing the status of the lids and the weight of the bottles. Once they were both replaced on the table, she took a pause to think for a while, then made her choice. "I choose the one in front of me."

The two girls took their canteens. Arieyn looked Vixyn directly in the eye as they unscrewed the lids.

"Good luck, Vixyn."

"You too, Arieyn."

And with that, still looking each other in the eye, they drank. A small smirk cracked Arieyn's face as Vixyn's eyes began to droop.

BOOM!

"Joke's on you. I poisoned both canteens, because I've been building up a resistance to iocane powder."

Delilah's brow furrowed. "So she's been planning something like this for the whole time."

"What do you mean?" asked Danira.

"I think Arieyn's been prepping for this plan the entire time. The reason Blaze was in the Games was that Creddi somehow died. I think Creddi died by drinking Arieyn's immunity-building poison."

Meanwhile, Janari's hands began shaking. "I can't figure out what Arieyn is gonna do! Is she gonna go for the first person she can find even though it's from her district? Or is she gonna hunt down Carissa first?" I mean Lavender is an easier kill, but to kill your district partner before killing someone from another district is so bad. But Lavender is only a backup tribute…"

"Breathe, Janari. Breathe," urged Delilah.

On screen, Arieyn began to pack up her bags to go hunting. It seemed that she, too, was debating how to handle things. "Does she know who's left?" asked Phoebe.

"Well, Carissa had a tribute list," Elizah counted, "Lavender had a tribute list… I don't think Arieyn has found one yet, no."

"So she has no idea who's left."

"I wonder," Bonnie proposed, "if she killed Vixyn because she assumed that there were no Careers left. I feel that, if she knew that it was Carissa and Lavender left, she would have kept Vixyn around to help get them out."

Bellona shook her head. "No, I disagree. I think the only scenario in which Arieyn kept Vixyn is if she knew that Carissa and Lavender had their final two pact. See, with two outer district tributes, Arieyn can easily win. With a separated pair of Careers, she can win, even if they're in the same place. But two Careers working together, in the same place, at the same time? She can't win against that. I think that, in that case, Lavender and Carissa screwed up by splitting up; if they'd stayed together, they could have easily taken down Arieyn, who can't use any wieldable weapon, and… well, we know they could have won, but they don't know that, so I wonder…"

"Uh, guys? Stop your strategizing and watch this!" commanded Pandora, piping up from the back row.

The on-screen Arieyn's eyes were wide, as if she could tell something was wrong. She stumbled over to Vixyn and looked at the girl's corpse. "Thus, with a kiss, I die," Arieyn said, blowing Vixyn a kiss before slumping to the ground next to her love.

BOOM!

Silence rang through the Arena to let what had just happened sink in for the audience. In the Selection House, all heads in the room turned to Janari as her eyes widened in shock. "O love, be moderate, allay thy ecstasy. In measure rein thy joy, scant this excess. I feel too much thy blessing. Make it less, for fear I surfeit!" she exclaimed.

"You good, Janari?" asked Khara. "Is that… verse of some sort? Are you in a trance?"

"I'm good," Janari smiled dreamily. "Carissa is coming home to me. I've never been happier!"

* * *

 _Carissa Lovarre, 18, District Two_

 _Location: Lower Hallway, Second Floor_

* * *

When she heard the first cannon, Carissa felt a pit in her stomach. She knew that it had to be either Vixyn, Arieyn, or Lavender, and logic would dictate that it would be Lavender. After all, everyone else was on the first floor, and Carissa assumed that the other girls were in an alliance. Her heart hurt; as a Career she wasn't supposed to feel bad for the death of someone else, but something about Lavender made her regret that she didn't do more to save her. But splitting up was the best move at the time; if mutts came into the castle, or when Arieyn and Vixyn went to hunt, staying together would have meant the deaths of both girls which, understandably, was not an ideal situation.

When she heard the second cannon, it got bigger. Now, surely Lavender was dead. Carissa felt bad for the little girl. She'd never expected to find an ally in the Games with whom she felt such a strong connection. The Games weren't supposed to be a place where you find friends or anything like that. Sure, romances had happened before in the Games, but they were far from encouraged; close friendships like hers with Lavender were only a step behind that. She'd never really felt that close to anyone back home, and the relationship she'd garnered with the little one was surprisingly similar to the one she had with Janari. Losing Lavender was like losing a sister.

But now, there was only one person left to go. Carissa couldn't pine for the little girl for too long, because she was so, so close to winning. She decided to get ready to hunt for the last tribute, as the Gamemakers were undoubtedly going to drag them together. She shuffled across the carpet to the door, but when she touched the metal handle, it zapped her hand. Carissa jumped back, assuming that the Gamemakers had a reason for wanting her to stay in her room, so decided not to fight it and took a seat on her bed.

Suddenly, a third cannon – the final cannon of the 125th Games – fired. Carissa's mind was racing. How did all three of the other tributes manage to die without her getting involved? Maybe Lavender managed to cut up another tribute and have them bleed out before she died by Arieyn's poison dart? Or maybe Vixyn accidentally drank poison? She didn't know. But she was excited to find out when she saw the recap.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the Victor of the One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Hunger Games, Carissa Lovarre!"

As Carissa reveled in the applause being piped in to her room, she attempted to sort through the bittersweet nature of her victory. It was all fine and good to live. But her living meant that a twelve-year-old was dead. And that girl was one with whom Carissa had had a connection, and it was Carissa's idea for them to split up in the first place, meaning that she couldn't protect her younger ally. In a way, it was her fault.

But then Carissa remembered that she had a younger sister. And she couldn't imagine how elated Janari must be. Carissa had done so much to protect her sister already, and she knew that Janari appreciated it; to be able to give her a hug and a kiss again would be the icing on the cake.

As the hovercraft materialized above her and Carissa grabbed on, she took a few deep breaths. The girl from Two knew that, from the moment she arrived back in the Capitol, her life would be totally different, and that the guilt of what she'd done would probably come eventually. But for now, she could revel in the honor she'd brought to Two and the cheering crowds. And that feeling would never get old.

* * *

 _Lavender Aroma, 12, District One_

 _Location: Upper Hallway, First Floor_

* * *

The first cannon didn't faze the little girl from One. No, death was part of these Games. She assumed that Arieyn and Vixyn had turned on each other, one killing the other. Lavender thanked her lucky stars that she had a copy of the tribute list, which she had pulled out as soon as she entered her room. Now, she assumed, Carissa was still alive, and so was Vixyn. Arieyn was good with poison, but she couldn't kill with any other weapon, and Vixyn's twin double-bladed axes were possibly the most dangerous in the Games.

The second cannon didn't really faze Lavender either. She assumed that Arieyn and Vixyn had turned on each other in some way – maybe Arieyn managed to poison Vixyn before getting mutilated by the girl from Two's axes. That meant that Carissa was probably the only tribute left.

 _So she had kept the pact,_ Lavender realized.

Lavender knew that the name of the Games was backstabbing. You couldn't win if you didn't, but there were times at which backstabbing was a better or worse idea. Carissa could have easily killed her any of the nights during the Games; the fact that they'd made the final two together spoke volumes about the trustworthiness of the other girl, especially because they were from different districts.

Growing up without any siblings, Lavender's only real older role model was her mother. She'd always longed for someone like a big sister, and it made Lavender so happy that Carissa had taken on that role. She was such a strong girl – no, a strong woman! – and it was a privilege to Lavender that she'd gotten to know her. And now, the two girls would have to go against each other to live. Lavender began to pack up her stuff, preparing both physically and mentally for an epic final battle.

Then the third cannon sounded. And Lavender was confused.

Carissa had told her that she was going up to the second floor. Vixyn and Arieyn remained on the first floor. So how could Carissa have come in second place? Lavender couldn't bring herself to believe that Carissa committed suicide; the two were close, but not _that_ close, and Carissa wasn't the type of person to give up the potential for honor and glory for a twelve-year-old.

Unless Carissa came in fourth or third. Maybe Carissa lied to her that she was going to the second floor, and instead went to fight Arieyn and Vixyn. The logic of it was a bit lost on Lavender, unless it was to save Lavender, which made little sense, because Carissa wasn't the type of person to give up honor and glory for a twelve-year-old. She couldn't quite figure it out, so she decided to not freak out at that point and wait to watch the recap at the Victory Ceremony.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the Victor of the One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Hunger Games, Lavender Aroma!" announced Dorian, as the roar from the audience played in Lavender's room. A small, sad smile creeped up on her face. It wasn't that the little girl was upset to be a Victor. No, that was the best feeling in the world! She'd manage to best twenty-three other girls, all older than her, despite only having one kill. What made Lavender a little upset was that her winning meant that Carissa was gone. She felt a little bit empty knowing that someone who had done so much to contribute to her victory was dead.

Lavender shook her head, trying to get those thoughts out. She needed to be happy! She won! She could go home and bring honor and glory to One for the first time in eight years. And it was pretty cool to be the third in a string of Career Victors, and to be the youngest Career Victor since the Hatch twins (who weren't even real Victors anyway because the Fourth Quell didn't really count). Lavender had a lot to be proud of.

The hovercraft materialized in front of the little girl, and she carefully grabbed hold of the ladder. Suddenly, she realized something moderately upsetting.

 _Darn! I never got to decapitate anyone._

* * *

 **Eulogies**

 **6th Place: Eloise LaBelle, District Ten, Killed by Carissa**

 **Eloise was a tribute that I genuinely enjoyed writing. It took a little bit for me to get there, but I really grew to love this sweet southern belle. A Ten tribute working with a lasso broke my headcanon for a standard Ten weapon, but I loved getting to bring this girl to life. Thanks, IVolunteerAsAuthor, for Eloise; I know she surprised you, and I definitely hope you stick around for the Selection!**

 **{Family Fact: Eloise's Maw and Paw would go back and forth on whether or not to keep their square-dancing club, but eventually decided to in Eloise's memory. The club became a staple of life in Eloise's part of Ten, and it made sure that Eloise was never forgotten.}**

 **5** **th** **Place: Kylis Divola, District Nine, Trampled by Mutts**

 **I loved the Kylis/Dania story, I really did. It was so perfect for this story as a whole, but I got the feeling that Kylis coming home would be too happy of an ending. Kylis was such a fun tribute to write; she's so passionate and determined, and yes, a little bit of a badass. Thanks, LokiThisIsMadness, and I hope you stay to see how Dania and Thyra fare!**

 **{Family Fact: Kylis's mother, Sara, struggled without her daughter, and eventually went a bit crazy. Without a connection to Dania, she didn't know that someone else was feeling exactly what she was feeling, and eventually committed suicide.}**

 **4** **th** **Place: Vixyn Kearne, District Two, Killed by Arieyn**

 **Vixyn was someone that I really enjoyed writing. While Arieyn transformed into a lovesick puppy, she attempted to keep her cool, but was essentially done in by Nyx's poison dart, ironically. I loved getting to play with such a fierce tribute who really had some anger issues there, but with a heart of gold for certain people and a passion for what is right. Thanks, Xechasate for Vixyn, and while you have no tributes left anywhere, I hope you keep reading to see who Garnet picks!**

 **{Family Fact: Vixyn's cousin Ben would eventually marry his girlfriend Amanda, and they would have a daughter together named Victoria in Vixyn's memory. They would discourage all three of their daughters from training, but the girls did enroll in a poison prevention class and a basic self-defense class.}**

 **3** **rd** **Place: Arieyn Occisor, District One, Killed by Herself**

 **Oh, accidental self-deaths are the best. I really enjoyed writing Arieyn, and when I saw that I had a poison tribute that wasn't straight, and that Vixyn, another Career, wasn't straight, I knew that I was going this route with references to both The Princess Bride and Romeo and Juliet in one death (pretty impressive, if you ask me). I'm fairly certain that Arieyn's submitter, Hungergames42, isn't reading, but if you are, I hope you stick around!**

 **{Family Fact: Arieyn's mother, Trienda, had now lost her second child to the Games. She didn't expect to have the support of other Victors who had also lost children, as she had closed herself off from any outside support after her son died. She would eventually recover, slowly, and would choose not to have another child for fear of losing them.}**

 **Victors: Lavender Aroma, District One, and Carissa Lovarre, District Two**

 **From the moment I got each of these girls, I knew I really liked them, but each was lacking a little bit: Lavender was intelligent but tiny, and Carissa was strong but not quite as smart. Once I came up with the idea to pair them together, I knew they'd be unstoppable, and I've had this end sequence planned this way for a while. Lavender was an amazing tribute that really fit into this story by virtue of being a backup tribute, because she never would have been selected as a volunteer at that young of an age. I also adored Carissa's caring nature, rare for a Career, and the way she was so willing to protect her sister. Putting them in an alliance was the perfect storm, and I'm proud to have them as my Victors. Congrats Platrium and TheEngineeringGames on your first Victors each. I'm sure both of you are happy, and I too couldn't be happier with this pair.**

* * *

 **So there we have it, the finale of the 125** **th** **Hunger Games! What'd you think? I've had so much fun writing these Games, and I hope you've had as much fun reading them! Also, major thanks to CelticGames4 for beta-ing this chapter for me to help me make it as amazing as it could be.**

 **Next chapter will be the Victory Ceremony, where we'll see Carissa and Lavender's reactions to finding out that their ally is alive. I'm not sure if I'll do their homecoming chapter then or the next one, and then… Selection!**

 **Thank you all so much for your continued support. I hope you've enjoyed the Games, and know there's a lot more to come!**

 **-goldie031**


	50. The Victory Ceremony

_Carissa Lovarre, 18, District Two_

* * *

Carissa blinked once, then twice, adjusting to the sterile brightness of the room in which she found herself. She wasn't sure if she'd woken up before; her memory was a bit of a blur. Carissa knew that her Games weren't as taxing as some of the others, but she couldn't understand why she still had to be knocked out. How many days could have passed since she won?

Since Lavender died.

Carissa expected to find a restraint on her body, but was happy to find that she was free to get up and move around. Carefully, she sat up and swung her legs over the bed, then stood up, allowing her legs to get used to carrying her weight again. She took a few steps, then sat back down again, a bit light-headed. She took a few deep breaths, then stood up again and walked confidently out of the room.

Looking one way, then turning the other, she found Mesa Amura, her mentor, Krysanthi Merlot, Two's primary escort, and her stylist, Lucetta Kros, waiting for her. Carissa walked confidently, with the air of a Victor, as she now was. "Hi everyone," she said, a bit smugly. "I'm back!"

Mesa smiled, a rarity for one of Two's harshest Victors. "Congratulations, Carissa. You represented your district well. Everyone is very proud of you."

"How many days has it been?"

"Only two. They wanted to be a bit more careful with you, but these Games didn't take as much of a toll on you as they have on prior Victors. They were… comparatively easy. Not Fourth Quell easy, but fairly easy. Especially because you and Lavender stayed in the castle and monitored your supplies fairly well. You lost a bit of weight, but it really wasn't so bad."

"All right," Krysanthi said, "we're on a tight schedule, so Carissa and Lucetta, why don't you guys head up to the District Two floor and start the styling process?"

"Sounds good," Lucetta replied, leading her tribute to an elevator that brought them to the lobby. When they got there, they transferred to the tribute elevators. Carissa thought she caught a glimpse of a short blonde girl as the doors of one elevator were closing.

 _Snap out of it, Carissa. It can't be Lavender. She's dead._

Carissa and Lucetta took a different elevator upstairs from the one the blonde girl had used. They reached the oddly quiet District Two floor. Carissa greeted her prep team, Valentine, Prospero, and Hermione, and all five sat down to lunch. "Where are Janari and Bellona?" asked Carissa as her portion of paella was placed in front of her.

"The Selection ladies are staying in the Selection house elsewhere in the Capitol," explained Lucetta who, for lack of anything better to do, was sitting in the room watching Carissa's prep team work. "This building sometimes gets used during the year, so they wanted to keep the girls out of it. The side effect of that is that it gives you more peace and quiet right now and for the next few days that you're here."

"Few days? Isn't it just two?"

"It's a bit longer than that this year. They've added a bunch of stuff this year. Tonight, you have the Victory Ceremony as usual. Tomorrow is the press day, so you'll have the formal interview with Harli and then some other interviews with the tabloids and TV channels and stuff. And then the next night is the Victory Ball."

"Victory Ball?"

Lucetta admitted, "I think it's basically an excuse to test the Selection girls on how well they handle public events relating to the Games before the Victory Tour. It could be that the Selection is an excuse for them to start this ball, or it could be that they're just doing something different. I don't know. But either way, you'll have to deal with it."

Carissa was a bit nervous for the Victory Ball, but at least it meant more time to spend with Janari. That would be quite nice.

After they finished eating, Carissa was whisked away to be primped. Her prep team made sure her skin was flawless and that there were no stray hairs where they weren't supposed to be. Then, Valentine swept her golden blonde hair up into a complicated, braided updo, Prospero painted her nails a delicate shade of lavender with a topcoat that looked like lavender lace, and Hermione did very simple, natural makeup.

Then, Lucetta came in with a garment bag. "Close your eyes, Carissa," commanded Lucetta. Carissa obliged, and felt something tight slip over her head, then zip. Hermione grabbed her hand and guided her into a pair of heels. "Now open."

As soon as she saw the dress, Carissa knew that it was perfect. It was a floor-length lavender mermaid dress with lavender lace appliques perfectly placed on the bodice, near the waist, and at the bottom of the skirt; the off-shoulder sleeves were also made of lace. On her feet were a pair of silver kitten heels, no more than an inch high. The dress was gorgeous, but there were touches of innocence inside, and the significance of the color wasn't lost on her. "It's lavender. For Lavender."

"Yes. Yes, it is."

* * *

 _Lavender Aroma, 12, District One_

* * *

Lavender was thrilled to wake up and find that she wasn't being held down in any way. The little girl had woken up at least two or three times, but she'd been restrained at the waist; even though she felt fine, they weren't ready to let her get up, and so she'd been knocked out by some sort of liquid running through an IV. Now, though, there was no restraint, and she was free to move about as she pleased. Lavender swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up, fully comfortable on her own two feet and ready to get moving.

Lavender, feeling totally fine, stood up, but almost buckled under her own weight; after a moment, she was able to hold herself up and walk confidently out of the room. The little Victor found herself in a long hallway; at one end was a nice-sized room in which she found her mentor, Tyranny Bomber, Glaucus Brazier, One's primary escort, and her stylist, Emeril Morno. "Congratulations, Lavender," Tyranny said, pulling the little girl into a hug.

"Thank you," Lavender replied.

"The district is very proud of you, and we're thrilled to have a girl in the exclusive club of twelve-year-old Victors, just five of you."

"And only ten under fifteen, right?"

"Right. How do you remember that?"

"Mom and I have been studying it for a while. Do I get to get ready for the Victory Ceremony now?"

"Yes, you do. Let's go back up to our floor."

Tyranny led the team to the elevator to the lobby, where they transferred to the tribute elevators. Lavender was happy to see the District One Floor, but was surprised that Delilah wasn't there. "Where's Delilah?" the little one asked.

"In the Selection house, where the other Selection girls live because they're not really tributes anymore. You'll see her soon enough."

"OK."

Lavender, Tyranny, Emeril, and Glaucus had a nice lunch with her prep team, Sheila, Misha, and Avery, then they began the prep process. As Lavender hadn't yet gone through puberty, there wasn't a ton of hair to remove after the first round, but she did get a little trim of the hair on her head, and her prep team did a quick coat of lotion to smooth her skin out. They curled her hair, did some very minimal, age-appropriate makeup, and painted her nails a pretty lavender-to-violet gradient. Sheila helped Lavender into a pair of silver flats, and Avery fastened a silver necklace with a pendant in the shape of the lavender flower.

Then, Emeril brought Lavender's dress out in a garment bag. Lavender closed her eyes, allowing the soft chiffon to settle around her body. When she opened her eyes, she found what looked like a strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline, though she knew that there were two clear straps over her shoulders holding her dress up. The bodice of the dress was a gorgeous violet, and it slowly faded into a soft shade of lavender at the bottom. "It's pretty," Lavender said, as Emeril handed her a pair of matching glasses, "but I wish it was a bit more lavender."

"Well," Emeril explained, "I purposely chose to do violet now. You've grown up a lot, Lavender, maybe more than you know. You've experienced new things, and your understanding of the world is probably now deeper. So I picked violet, a deeper purple."

"I like that." Emeril was right, after all; it was sinking in slowly for Lavender that she'd killed someone. At age twelve, she'd taken someone's life. That wasn't something that would be easy to live down.

At least she'd never have to worry about doing so again. Had Lavender entered the Games at an older age, she almost undoubtedly would have had to kill more people, at least as many as Carissa had to. And Carissa would take the brunt of it anyway; Lavender only had one kill to her four.

Then Lavender remembered. Carissa was dead.

"Come on, Lavender," said Tyranny, shaking the little girl out of her thoughts. "We have to get down to the training floor. We're on a tight schedule." Carefully, the whole team made its way to the elevators and headed down.

When they got to the training floor, Sheila said, "Oh, crap! I forgot something on our floor. I'll go get it; you guys go get into position." Lavender found this a bit odd, but decided to shake it off; it was probably hard to get oneself ready while also getting someone else ready, so she assumed Sheila had forgotten something small, like a bracelet.

Tyranny led Lavender to a little room underneath the stage; Lavender wasn't normally nervous around people, but the sheer noise of the crowds, seemingly louder than that of the interview crowds, was making her a bit shaky. "I'm worried, Tyranny," Lavender admitted. "Am I allowed to be worried?"

"Of course you are, Lavender. You're allowed to feel whatever you want."

Tyranny guided Lavender into a little room under the stage. To Lavender's relief, it was more soundproof; she could still hear that there was talking, but it was muted, so she couldn't hear the words. The room was small, but comfortable; it had a little arm chair and a side table with a glass of water, as well as a metal plate on the floor. "When you see that light over there go on, step onto the plate; when it goes off, the plate should lift up automatically, but if it doesn't, just press that button in front of you. Remember that we're all very proud of you, and you're gonna do great. Good luck." And with that, Tyranny was gone, and Lavender was left alone with her thoughts, waiting for the blinding lights and the formal announcement of her Victory.

* * *

 _Janari Lovarre, 16, District Two_

* * *

"Hold still, Janari! We can't do your makeup if you're not still."

The Selection house was now in a frenzy as nineteen stylists worked to help their girls get into their dresses for the Victory Ceremony. The girls had been quite happy to not dress in their district colors; now, as formal ceremonies were creeping up on them again, they'd returned to them. Each girl was wearing a floor-length, sleeveless dress in their district color made of satin, fancy enough for the occasion but not fancy enough to upstage the Victors, with a pair of matching flats. But the process of getting nineteen girls dressed, made up, and doing their hair all in one building with (maybe not so intelligently) a limited number of mirrors was a bit challenging to say the least.

"I'm trying. I'm just too excited!"

"I understand that," replied Miles, her stylist. "But we don't want eyeliner all over your face, right?"

"I suppose." Somehow, Janari was able to rein in her excitement to allow Miles to finish her makeup. Her hair had been straightened, then curled, and had some sparkly strands added in. She stepped into her gray dress and allowed Miles to zip it up, then slid her flats on. Finally, he placed a gold necklace around her neck; its circular pendant elegantly displayed the seal of District Two. "You, Delilah, and Bellona get golden necklaces because you're from the districts of the Victors," he explained. "The other girls get silver."

"Everyone, please meet in the common room," commanded Violet, her voice coming through the loudspeakers peppered across the building. Miles gave Janari a last look-over before leading her to the common room. When they got there, they found some of the other girls milling about anxiously while waiting for the rest. Janari struck up a casual conversation with the ever-punctual Singer while waiting for everyone to arrive. Unsurprisingly, the last girl to get there was Pacifica, but the rest of the ladies were shocked to even see her; her hair was up in her standard high ponytail, and she didn't even appear to be wearing makeup, but at least she was wearing the proper dress.

Violet carefully counted the girls; once she saw that she had nineteen, she led the girls to a limousine with blacked out windows. The girls carefully took their seats as to not mess up their dresses; once all were in, the door shut, and the limo took off towards the City Circle. When it arrived, it pulled into some sort of staging area right next to the stage. The staging area had a common room and a private room; the girls sat down on the large round sofa, and Violet stood in front of them.

"All right, ladies. A few important things. First of all, I want to introduce you to some very important people. To my left is Portia Andeers, the head stage and technology manager here in the Capitol. Portia coordinates all of the televised ceremonies that you see, both the Games ceremonies like the Chariot Rides and the Victory Ceremony, as well any other announcements the President has to give. Portia is very busy right now, so I'm going to let her get back to coordinating her team doing sound and light checks. Thank you, Portia."

"It's good to meet you, ladies. I have quite a lot to do, but I hope that I'll get to meet you soon." With that, she busied out, talking rapidly into her headset.

Violet continued, "This other lovely lady is Desi Heartwood. She is our press secretary, so she handles all public appearances for the President and the Head Gamemaker, coordinates press events, and handles invitations to formal events such as the Victory Ball tomorrow night. Desi is in charge of tomorrow's press day, and you'll probably become quite acquainted with her as time goes on."

The girls applauded politely as Desi shyly waved. "It's good to meet you all." She gave Violet a look, who nodded, and then dipped into the private room, notepad, address book, and pen in hand.

"OK," said Violet. "Now I want to talk to you about procedure tonight. You ladies will be sitting behind the President, Garnet, and the Head Gamemaker in the President's box. While the focus will be on the Victors, it is still important for you to have proper decorum. You should be sitting with proper posture and not talking during the ceremony; whispering to the people next to you is OK, however. Remember that you are all to be model citizens for as long as you are here; you are no longer merely citizens, you are the President's charges, and you have to carry yourselves with the decorum of the President. Is that understood?" The girls nodded. "Excellent. We have a bit of time, and then I'll line you up in the order in which you'll be sitting in the box."

Violet disappeared to do who knew what, and the girls spent their time milling around, making idle chatter. They were all excited; it was quite special to get to witness the Victory Ceremony first-hand. Snacks had been put out for the girls on which most of them nibbled; Janari, however, was a bit too nervous to eat. Eventually, it was time to move into the President's box.

Violet led the girls out of the staging area, behind the stage, and into the box. Janari was surprised at how nice it was. The seats were of a gorgeous green leather that was soft to the touch. There were four rows of seats in stadium seating, four chairs in the first row and six in each of the other three.

"Janari, you'll be sitting over there, in the front row, all the way on the right, closest to the stage; Garnet, the President, and the Head Gamemaker decided that, as the sister of a Victor, that would make sense, especially because it would even out the rest of you into three rows of six.

"In the first row, Bellona will be all the way on the right, then Delilah, Dania, Melvina, Cayman, and Lennox. Second row: Honey on the right, followed by Danira, Elizah, Nadina, Euodia, and Singer. And in the back row, Pacifica on the right, then Thyra, Bonnie, Phoebe, Khara, Pandora. Now, let me see." Violet stepped back to make sure that everything looked nice. "Very nice. You all look lovely. The President and her family will be here soon, at which point we'll begin the ceremony."

After some time, President Emerald, Garnet, and the Head Gamemaker came into the box. The girls all stood up, as was customary to do around the President. "Hello, everyone," said President Emerald. "You may be seated. Amethyst, you'll sit next to Janari, and Garnet, you'll sit in front of Lennox on the other side." Ruby sat down, then stood up again, turning to face the girls. "I don't believe I've introduced myself to you ladies yet, though I'm sure you all know me. My name is Ruby, I'm Garnet's mother, and I'm absolutely thrilled to have one of you as my daughter-in-law." Then, Ruby went around and talked to each girl individually, shaking her hand and asking her name before making a bit of small talk. She started with Pacifica in the back, who was unsurprisingly reluctant, and worked her way down. Ruby even had the tact to offer her condolences to Dania, who certainly appreciated it. Eventually, she came to Janari.

"Hello, my dear. What's your name?"

"Janari," said the girl from Two, giving the President's hand a firm shake.

"Oh, you're Ms. Lovarre?"

"One of the two, yes."

"Then, congratulations! Your older sister is quite the worthy Victor, and we are certainly proud of her. You must be as well."

"Oh, yes, very proud, but mostly happy to see her."

"Completely understandable. I'm sure you'll enjoy the ceremony then?"

"Oh yes."

Suddenly, the anthem began, and Ruby quickly took her seat. Janari's heart began to race a little faster; she was so, so close to seeing Carissa!

"Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Victory Ceremony for the One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Hunger Games!" announced Harli. She paused for the applause, then continued, "Before we begin, I have a quick reminder: we have not yet told either of our Victors that the other is still alive. So we'll be bringing up their prep teams, escorts, stylists, and mentors together, but the Victors separately. Don't spoil the surprise!" The Capitol audience laughed; Janari didn't quite understand why that was funny, but laughed along anyway.

After a transition moment, and some cool light and sound things, the ceremony proper began. First, the prep teams came out, basking in the audience's applause. Next, Krysanthi and Glaucus rose up to the stage, composed and happy to have brought another tribute home; Krysanthi had just brought Arabelle home two years prior, and so was familiar with the proceedings, but Glaucus was happy to experience it for the first time.

Krysanthi and Glaucus were followed by Lucetta and Emeril, the girls' stylists. Both had done a great job, as to be expected with people of their experience. Then came their mentors, Tyranny and Mesa, who were more than thrilled to bring another tribute each home; Tyranny had brought Capek home for One, and Mesa had worked with Smash.

And then, it came time for the Victors. The lights flashed, dramatic music played, and Carissa rose up from the stage. Janari thought her sister looked resplendent in her lavender dress. The audience immediately recognized the significance of the color, which caused a ripple of smiles to spread across the room; they knew something that Carissa did not. Jan even noticed the silver watch on her sister's wrist; it was her father's watch, the one she was given during their goodbyes.

The Victor from Two basked in the applause for a few moments, until Harli held up her hand, halting it. "Now, Carissa, we have a surprise for you." Carissa's eyebrows went up. "You see behind you that there's a couch instead of a throne. What do you think that means?"

"Is there another Victor?" Carissa asked.

"You got it." Janari could see the gears turning in Carissa's head, trying to figure out what happened and who it could be. "Let's bring her up!"

A second hole in the stage opened up. The plate pushed up. As soon as a little bit of Lavender's head popped up, Carissa knew who it was and fell to her knees in relief. She held out her arms to the littler girl, who (when the plate clicked into place) ran into Carissa's arms. The two embraced for quite a few minutes before they took their seats on the plush red velvet couch. The lights dimmed, and the recap of the Games began.

The recap started, as the recap always did, with the Reapings. The girls from One and Two all lunged forward to volunteer, but the outer district volunteers like Drew and Silver really stood out. They showed the chariot rides, training scores, and the interviews; this whole first section focused on Carissa and her journey towards the Games.

Then came the Selection reveal. Janari realized that neither Lavender nor Carissa had ever seen this, as they'd been in the launch tubes at that point, so it was interesting for her to watch their reactions. After it, they went back to show Lavender's journey to the Games: the process of the backup reaping, Lavender's training score and pre-taped interview, and even a never-before-seen clip from training showing the forming of the girls' final two deal. After that, Lavender and Carissa learned for the first time of the existence of Blaze; it was surprising to them that someone had entered the Games and died without even having met them.

Then, the Games began. Lavender and Carissa watched as Carissa killed Silver, the two becoming the first alliance in the Games to find each other. They saw Narcissa shoved Amaryllis in front of her, only for both of them to get killed by Ravi, Weave and Kylis linking up to look for Dania, Ferrari joining Nanami and Blaze, and Vixyn killing Drenaline. They finally understood that it wasn't that the other Careers didn't want to link up with them; rather, the problem was that they couldn't find each other due to the vast size of the castle and the surrounding area.

The next few days passed without event. They were shocked that Freida was able to knock out two Careers, and were surprised that Nyx had decided to leave them because she'd gotten bomb supplies; admittedly, neither girl had given much thought to Nyx leaving, but maybe they should have been more careful. Eventually, the wall went up; both Victors smiled sadly at Ferrari launching herself off of the turret only to fall to her death. They also noticed Arieyn getting more and more attached to Vixyn. "That must be what did her in," Lavender pointed out.

Then, the action exploded. Nyx blew up Weave and Elysia, knocking her out; Janari knew she was glad that Nyx had left Lavender and Carissa before getting the bomb supplies and deciding to explode somebody, and Jan felt that the Victors agreed. Afterwards they showed the feast, during which Lavender or Carissa took out three of the four deaths, cementing them as the front runners.

Things moved quickly from there. Most of the girls got sponsor gifts, Vixyn killed Nyx, then Carissa killed Eloise. The music then changed, attempting to make the audience nervous. It worked. Carissa looked out the doors only to see the cavalry coming; then, the two split up. Just moments later, Arieyn and Vixyn ran into the castle. "Wow, we just missed them," Carissa whispered.

Finally, the music began to swell as Arieyn set up her trap. Carissa and Lavender watched raptly as Arieyn carefully measured out the poison and poured an equal amount into both canteens. They saw Arieyn challenge Vixyn to a battle of wits, Vixyn pick a canteen, and then they drank. Vixyn went down first, and Arieyn not long after. Finally, they showed a split-screen of announcing the two girls' victories, playing first Carissa's reaction, then Lavender's. In an impressive display of editing, the recap ended with a clip of Lavender running into Carissa's arms, which had just happened hours before.

The anthem played again as the lights came up. During the recap, President Emerald had stealthily left the box; most likely, she didn't need to come into the box in the first place, but did so out of respect for the Selection girls who were there. She came up onto the stage, followed by her granddaughters, Lilac and Lily, each carrying a pillow with a crown. Ruby placed the larger crown from Lily's pillow on Carissa's head, and then the smaller crown from Lilac's pillow on Lavender's head. The audience applauded once more before Harli bid everyone good night.

Violet tapped Janari on the shoulder. "If you'd like to go down to the stage, you may." Janari nodded eagerly; Violet led her out of the box and to her sister. Once she got to the stage, Janari ran to her sister and grabbed her from the back, tears welling in her eyes. Carissa turned around, and while it took a moment for her to register who was hugging her, once she realized, she returned it with vigor, tears welling in her eyes as well.

"Do me a favor, Carissa."

"Yes?"

"Don't ever leave me again."

* * *

 **So there's the Victory Ceremony! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the reunions. We'll have a few more post-Games chapters, and then move on to the Selection!**

 **I need some help with a project. If you could PM me or leave in the reviews ideas for Capitol magazines or TV stations and what they focus on, that'd be great; bonus points if you send me questions they may ask. All will be revealed with this project next chapter. Don't be alarmed if I don't reply right away; I'll be offline for the next two days, but eventually I'll get back to all of you.**

 **Thank you all so much for all of your support!**

 **-goldie031**


	51. Press Day

As soon as the two girls had gotten back to the training center, Carissa pulled Lavender into another embrace. She looked at Lavender's face, taking it in, before squeezing her cheeks like a grandmother. "Carissa!" complained Lavender. "That hurt!"

"Sorry," smiled Carissa sheepishly. "I was just making sure you were real and not a hologram or something. I thought you were dead!"

"I did too, 'cause I heard your cannon."

"But you're here with me now, and we're together, so that's what matters." They embraced again.

Krysanthi interjected, "I'm so glad to see you two get along so well! I'll give you some instructions and then leave you two to your rooms.

"To keep things simple, we're all going to be staying on the District Two floor until we leave. Glaucus, the District One escort, has some… other things to handle, so I'll be both of your escorts for the time being. The plan is to just rest and relax tonight, have dinner, then go to bed early so that we can get up in time for press day tomorrow. Any questions?"

"What's your name?" asked Lavender innocently.

"Krysanthi," smiled the escort. "It's good to meet you, Lavender. I've heard great things about you."

"Thank you."

"All right. Anything else? Cool."

Krysanthi led the girls up to the second floor, where she, the girls' stylists, and their mentors allowed them to have some time to themselves. The girls sat on the couch in the common room, Lavender curled up at Carissa's side. "How are you feeling post-Games?"

"A bit guilty. I mean, it's weird to know that I've taken someone's life. I feel like it hasn't properly weighted on me, you know?"

"I guess. I think everything is different before the Games and in the Games. Like you imagine it, but when it actually happens, it's totally different and much more real. Janari was the one who wanted me to volunteer in the first place, but when I hugged her after the ceremony, she told me never to leave her. Maybe it was because I could actually die? But I was never nervous in the Arena. We didn't face anyone too difficult…"

"I don't know." The two fell silent, simply enjoying each other's presence.

"Girls! Dinner!" called Krysanthi. Lavender and Carissa joined their teams at the table, excited to see a meal of pork chops, mashed potatoes, and brussels sprouts. Well, one of them was excited about the brussels sprouts.

"So what is happening tomorrow?" asked Carissa, serving herself some mashed potatoes before passing the dish to Lavender. "Lucetta was telling me about the Victory Ball, but she didn't really tell me anything about press day."

Krysanthi sighed. "It's nothing too huge. The general consensus is that it's a test for the Selection girls so that Garnet and the President can see how they handle the media. When you're that high up in Panem, you're dealing with the media all the time, and this is a perfect way to test that out."

"So instead of us doing one interview, we're doing a gazillion," Lavender concluded.

"I actually have no idea how many you'll be doing. My guess is that this is Desi's domain, and Desi a very new press secretary, so I think this is the first time she's planning something that's not just for the Emerald clan. She's probably never done anything of this magnitude before, so I bed she didn't quite know who to tell about what. I'm not super worried; I'm sure we'll get more information tomorrow."

"Is it here?" asked Carissa.

"I think so, but it could be in the Selection House as well. I should actually check on that; I've been so busy dealing with getting sponsors for you, Lavender, that I just haven't been thinking about press day at all."

"Hey, I'm not complaining," Lavender smiled.

Dinner was a generally pleasant affair. The girls made good conversation, and it was much less stressful than the meals they'd had before the Games. Afterwards, Krysanthi brought out a lavender cake with "Congratulations Lavender and Carissa!" written on it in violet writing. The cake itself was even lavender scented and flavored, making Lavender extremely happy.

Carissa had a feeling that, by the time she got home, she'd be a bit tired of the color lavender.

* * *

 _Carissa Lovarre, 18, District Two_

* * *

The next morning, Carissa woke up to a big frenzy. "Carissa! You gotta get up! We have to leave in ten minutes!" yelled Krysanthi, clearly in the middle of dealing with a few things.

Carissa groaned. She shot out of bed and quickly threw on a pair of leggings and a top of some sort. Carissa brushed her teeth, then quickly ran a brush though her still-wet hair and rushed outside to eat some breakfast.

"How are you doing this morning?" asked Mesa, as Carissa took a seat at the table. Carissa found Mesa to be much more agreeable and less stern now that she too was a Victor.

"A bit frazzled."

"Yeah. We wanted to let you sleep, but then Krysanthi found out that we're actually doing press day in the Selection house, so that threw a wrench in the schedule. But it's all good now. Lucetta will do your hair and makeup on the way."

"Where is Krysanthi?"

"Freaking out. Which she often does."

"And Lavender?"

"Lavender woke up an hour ago. Emeril's finishing up her hair and makeup now. Here, put together some breakfast in this to-go box so you can eat on the way." Carissa carefully put some eggs, hash browns, and two slices of bacon in the box before Mesa ushered her to the roof. "I'm not going with you today," Mesa said, "but you'll have Lucetta and Emeril and Krysanthi, so you'll be in fine hands. Have fun!"

"Thanks."

Carissa boarded the hovercraft, where she saw the rest of the team waiting. "We're so sorry about this," gushed Krysanthi. "But I'm glad you're here and conscious and everything. All right. Go with Lucetta, and she'll get you into your first outfit and hair and makeup."

Lucetta brought Carissa into the large common room, where Emeril was finishing up with Lavender, and sat her down at the appropriate station. She carefully brushed Carissa's hair again, then blow-dried it and straightened it. Meanwhile, Emeril, finished with lavender, jumped in to help his fellow stylist; he did extremely minimal makeup on Carissa, something that was versatile and pretty, giving her just a pop of color on her lips. "Simple today," Carissa noticed.

"Yeah. We need something that we can change into multiple styles quickly." Lucetta gave Carissa a pair of jeans and a pretty gold top. "You'll be wearing a lot of gold today."

"I had that feeling."

Carissa put the outfit on, then Lucetta gave her a feather necklace. She took a lock of hair from one side of Carissa's head and braided it, bobby-pinning it into place about midway down the back of her head. Just as Lucetta finished, the hovercraft touched down next to the Selection house. "Perfect timing!" Lucetta exclaimed. "Let's go."

Emeril, Lucetta, Krysanthi, and the Victors walked off of the hovercraft and into the Selection house, where things were predictably frenzied. Some of the girls were ready, wearing various outfits in their district colors on an equal level of fanciness to what Lavender and Carissa were wearing. Others were trickling in at various stages of ready, their stylists following with makeup brushes, curling irons, and various articles of clothing. Eventually, all of the girls had assembled, and Violet stood in front of them, ready to begin.

"Good morning, ladies," Violet said, "and welcome to our first press day! I'm going to turn the day over to Desi, under whose jurisdiction we've found ourselves, and let her take it from here, but I will be around all day if you have questions or concerns. Desi?"

"Thank you, Violet," Desi began shyly, still getting used to talking in front of the crowd. "Good morning everyone. I'm going to give a quick run-down of the day first, and then go into some specifics. So, before lunch are the magazine and TV interviews that are coming in. Hopefully, we'll be done with everything by 1 PM, which gives us a good five or so hours. Then, we'll have lunch and go into styling for the interview with Harli. That interview will be taped, edited, and then played tonight, and then we'll move into the photoshoot for the press photos. We may also have some other interviews in the afternoon, depending on timing, but I'm not so sure yet, so we'll see. Got it?

"Cool. So for now, I'm going to focus on the logistics of the morning; the afternoon should be pretty self-explanatory, so I'm not so worried about that right now. Right after this, we're going to split into the various rooms in the building. Your escorts will prep you for the first interview, then the TV station or magazine will come in and interview you. Then, the first magazine will leave, your stylist will give you a new or changed outfit, your escort will prep you, and the next magazine or TV station will come in. And so on and so forth. We don't know exactly what each interviewer will be doing with you, but we have a general idea, and your escorts know exactly what to do if there's a problem.

"Are there any questions about this morning's procedure?"

Danira raised her hand. "I think you might have mentioned this, but I'm not sure. Are we moving rooms?"

"No. You'll be in your assigned rooms the whole time and the TV stations and magazines will rotate between you. Khara?"

"Are we having every magazine come to us?"

"No. Not everyone will get every magazine or TV station, and not every station or magazine will visit all of you. Carissa and Lavender, though, you guys will probably have a lot of people in your room. Anything else? OK. Now I'll give you the room assignments.

"As much as possible, your room assignments are by your district. Therefore, if you are from Districts Five, Seven, or Nine, you'll be in the common rooms of your suites. So, to be clear, Khara, Pandora, and Phoebe will be in the Three-Five-Six suite, Euodia, Nadina, and Elizah will be in the Seven-Eight-Twelve suite, and Melvina, Cayman, and Dania will be in the Nine-Ten-Eleven suite. In the common room of the One-Two-Four suite will be Janari, Carissa and Lavender. The rest of you will be in private rooms, mostly in groups of two. In Private Room A are Delilah and Bellona. In Private Room B, we have Honey and Danira, in Private Room C we have Thyra and Bonnie, in Private Room D are Lennox and Singer, and Pacifica will be alone in Private Room E."

Carissa noticed that the Selection girls began to exchange looks across the room. Maybe Pacifica had intentionally been put by herself; that at least seemed to be what some of the Selection girls thought.

"Again, if you need anything, I'll be around, as will Violet. Good luck and have fun! Please head over to your rooms."

Lavender poked Carissa on the shoulder. "Where is the room we have to go to?"

"I'm not sure, but I think Janari can show us."

Exactly at that moment, Janari came over to the Victors. "Want me to show you the way to the suite?" Janari asked.

"Sure, Janari. Thank you."

* * *

Bonnie and Thyra went right to their room, and took their seats in the two blue director's chairs. Immediately, their stylists descended on them to do some finishing touches with their makeup, and Ellis, Four's secondary escort, came in and closed the door. "You're with us today," Bonnie noticed. "I thought you were with Pacifica."

"Nope, I'm here. Because Honey and Danira are from different districts but in the same room, Sugar Willard, Six's secondary escort, is over with Pacifica," Ellis explained.

"That'll go well," Thyra muttered.

"Hey," smiled Ellis, "you said it and not me."

Being just nineteen, Ellis had a fairly good relationship with Thyra and Bonnie; she would have liked to have a good relationship with Pacifica, but Pacifica didn't like to cooperate with anybody. They were friendly, despite their different backgrounds, and it certainly helped the District girls to have someone not in the Selection to vent to.

Someone knocked at the door. Ellis opened it, took an envelope from someone with whom she had a very brief conversation, then closed the door again. "All right, ladies. Let's see who we're dealing with first." She carefully opened the envelope and took out a card. "Ooh, this is a good place to start. OK. Your first interview is with Games and Sports. Not the most interesting title, maybe, but the content is right up your alleys. They really talk about all Capitol sports, but it's mostly focused on the Games, both the physical stuff and the strategy."

"So stuff we know about as Careers."

Ellis tapped her nose. "Bingo. I actually doubt they'll go to any of the non-Careers because they just don't know the stuff you know about killing and strategy." Another knock sounded. "OK, that's the interviewer. I'll introduce you all and help set everything up, and then I'll be in the antechamber with your stylists. Good luck! You'll do great."

Ellis opened the door, allowing a man and a woman to come in. The man sat in another director's chair across from the girls from Four, and the woman sat in a fourth chair nearby. "Hi ladies," said the man nervously. "My name is Tiger Hudson, and this is my supervisor Elliya Miles. Elliya runs the Hunger Games section of Games and Sports, and I've been interning with her for the past few weeks. She finally trusts me to do an interview by myself, but she's here to record, transcribe, and help out." The Selection girls nodded. "All right! Let's get started."

Tiger began by asking some of the obligatory questions to the girls – what was your reaction to being Reaped, what about being picked by Garnet, tell me about your home life – before getting in to the meat of the interview. "You both are trained Careers, yes?" he asked, totally knowing the answer.

"Correct," Thyra began. "I was the selected Volunteer from Four this year. We all see how well that went for me."

"And I actually want to go into training Careers, so I trained to learn how to train, if that makes sense," Bonnie added.

"Yeah, totally," Tiger smiled. "So you guys are going to be the best people to start with to talk a bit about the Games! During the interview, we'll show you some events that happened during the Games and then ask you for your opinions of how the tributes fought and what they could have done better." Elliya stood up and, giving Tiger an encouraging nod, gave the girls an electronic tablet. "Do me a favor and play the first video on the tablet."

Thyra pushed the screen and watched as she saw the Ravi/Freida death play: Freida coming up behind the Upper Pack and hitting Ravi in the head and then in the back, Freida struggling to get the axe out, Vixyn then getting killed by Freida. It was a bit painful to watch, but nothing too bad; after all, they'd both seen it before.

"So who made the bigger mistake here, Ravi or Freida?" asked Tiger.

"I think Freida," Bonnie asserted. "See, when Freida stabbed Ravi the first time, in the head, Ravi was gone. There is no way to recover from that kind of damage in the Arena, and you can barely recover with a doctor. Freida should have known immediately that Ravi was dead; there was no need for her to go back for another hit. Especially if you consider how strong that hit was for the axe to get stuck in Ravi's back."

"But if you're in the Games, you should always be keeping watch in some way. For the Careers to be in a room with a closed door without any form of watch is, quite frankly, idiotic. It's the cardinal rule of alliances: keep some sort of watch."

"You have to cut them some slack, though," Bonnie pointed out. "Indoor Arenas are exceedingly rare, and remember that the girls were awake when Freida attacked. Careers aren't used to keeping watch during the day; they usually only do it when hunting or at night. Have you ever been instructed about what to do in terms of keeping watch in an indoor Arena?"

"Nope."

"Exactly. While it might be common sense, those are the Games you're dealing with, and they're life or death. Careers in life-or-death situations revert back to what they're taught, and they're not taught what to do indoors."

"But you can't tell me that they didn't have some sort of idea that they needed to keep watch. We're not dealing with idiots; Arieyn and Ravi were both pretty smart, Arieyn especially to be able to handle poison as a weapon. You have to have at least a hair of common sense. And keeping an eye on your surroundings in any Arena is a hair of common sense."

"Which is easier to do outdoors. If that Arena was carpeted, which I'm pretty sure it was, you can't really hear anyone coming. Outdoors, one hears footsteps and sticks cracking and stuff."

Tiger interjected, "It's so interested to hear you two have this argument, because it's really a question of the physical error versus the mental error. And those are rarely this easy to distinguish."

"I'll give Bonnie this: I think Freida's error was more common and more noticeable," Thyra suggested. "The doors are such an unfamiliar obstacle in the Games that you don't really think of the mistakes you can make with them, Career or not. I'm sure that there have been plenty of other Outer District tributes that have made a little mistake with their weapon while trying to make a kill that did them in."

"And I also agree that common sense is sometimes hard to come by in the Games. I don't know. We can – what's the phrase – armchair quarterback all we want, but when you're in the Games, who knows what you're thinking?"

"That was such a fascinating conversation to listen to. Let's move on to the second video. Tell me what you think."

Thyra played the video and immediately laughed; it was Ferrari jumping off of the turret. "I have nothing to say about this one. You just don't jump."

"Yeah, I'd agree," Bonnie added. "You either make the jump or you don't. There's just the mental lapse of jumping in the first place."

"I think we have time for one more. Play the third video now."

Thyra pressed the play button and witnessed Drew Voltas running away from his alliance and heading into the forest. "Hmm. I never thought of this as a strategy move," Thyra admitted.

"Yeah," agreed Bonnie. "I just thought it was a bit of panic. But if we're thinking about it from the strategy perspective… I don't know if there was a winning situation for Drew."

"What do you mean?" asked Tiger.

"Well, on the one hand, you don't want to leave your allies if they're from your district. That's the best way to alienate sponsors from your district, especially when you're the strong one; when Drew ran away from Mu and Pix, he put the nail in their coffins. But, when you're visibly the strongest in an alliance that you get forced into because of your district, and you know that your allies are going to hold you back because of how much less strong they are, your only shot is running away. So you either kill yourself by staying with weak allies or kill yourself by losing your sponsors because you ditched your allies. It's absolutely a catch-22."

Tiger smiled. "Well, this was an enlightening conversation. If you want to, you have great futures ahead of you as Games analysts. Thank you so much, girls!"

"It was our pleasure," smiled Bonnie.

Ellis came out of the antechamber to escort Tiger and Elliya out; the girls heard Tiger nervously ask Elliya how he did before the door shut.

Thyra smiled. "That wasn't so bad."

"From what I heard, you girls did really well. Thyra, why don't you go into the antechamber and Bonnie stay here so that you can change, and then I'll brief you on the next interview."

* * *

"So how do we feel?" Charlemagne, Eight's secondary escort, asked Lennox and Singer. Charlemagne had a bit of a weird relationship with the girls as he was the only male secondary escort, and therefore the only male living in the Selection house. He was less involved than some of the other escorts, but when it came down to a male escort or a mute escort (Mime from Ten), they picked the male for this purpose.

"I'm doing OK," Singer said.

"I think the interview went well," Lennox added brightly. "The people at Vanderbilt Square seemed to like us."

"I just hope the President is supervising their publication. Vanderbilt Square has a tendency to lean towards gossip and scandals. Not as bad as the Capitol Tattler, but it can get kind of… nitty gritty. All right. I'll step out so you girls can change."

Charlemagne stepped out as the girls' stylists reentered from the antechamber. "You can take the side room, Lennox," Singer said. "I don't need as much privacy."

"OK," Lennox said. "Why not?"

"Seutonia had me put a spaghetti-strap leotard on under my outfit so I could change clothing quickly."

"That was smart."

The girls quickly changed into their second outfits, then sat back into their director's chairs to get their makeup redone. Then, Charlemagne popped outside and came back in with another envelope. "All right, ladies. Next is another magazine, the First Street Press. They're really nice, usually focused on good and happy things, especially stories about families and reunions and stuff. This is like the standard 'I'm a middle-aged woman and I like reading sappy stuff that makes me happy' magazine. In the best way. I don't know what they're gonna be doing with you exactly, but we'll see. I'm sure it'll be great."

A knock at the door sounded; Charlemagne let in the reporters for the First Street Press, who took their seats across from the two ladies. "Hello, girls. I'm Rosetta, and this is Mariel, and we cover the President's affairs for the First Street Press. It's very exciting to meet both of you in person!"

"Thank you very much," Lennox said. "It's great to be here!"

"So we always like to start by getting to know your families," Mariel said. "Lennox, you have lots of siblings, right?"

"Yeah. I have two biological siblings and two adopted siblings with one more on the way."

"Do you like living in such a big family?"

"It's kind of chaotic at times, but I really like it. I'm so glad that I'm going to be able to get home to see Theodore be born."

"And Singer? What's your family life like?"

"A little different than Lennox's," smiled Singer. "I have no siblings, and I actually don't live at home. I live in the factory dorms with a lot of the other workers; living with them allows me to work double shifts, and I should be able to rise to the level of floor overseer really quickly as a result."

"So how did you two feel when you saw the various siblings get Reaped in the Games?"

"Well, these Games are a bit different because death wasn't guaranteed. I mean, it's never guaranteed," Singer clarified, "but you could get out of the Games because Garnet could pick you. So you always feel bad when siblings get Reaped, but it's so much easier when you know that some of them could get out."

"And you're always pulling for reunions. All the time. Any time a tribute has a really close relationship with a sibling or a significant other outside of the Games, you want them to come back to that person. So in the Selection house, I think a lot of people wanted to see Carissa and/or Kylis come back. Both of those pairs were so cute, and we all really wanted to see them reunite. I'm kind of glad we got one," Lennox admitted. "Rarely do you get so lucky."

"So everyone must have been happy to see Rain and Maddi reunited," Mariel prompted.

"Oh, it was so cute," smiled Lennox. "That kind of thing makes me really happy. I'm so glad that they're back home with their family; it must be such a relief for everyone involved."

"Now, what do you girls enjoy doing in your spare time?" Rosetta asked.

"I like to read," Lennox said, "and I also enjoy being around horses. Not a great rider, but I definitely like seeing them around me. They're cute."

"And I enjoy tatting doilies. I have a flower garden at home too, but the doilies are the best source of income. I put away the money in the hopes of buying a house someday."

"Well, you're quite prepared, Singer."

The interview carried along for a bit longer, with the girls slowly becoming more bored by Rosetta and Mariel's questions. Both were completely relieved when, after what seemed like forever, the interview finally ended.

* * *

"You girls are doing well so far," said Gigi Latterman, District Seven's secondary escort, after she escorted the folks from the Capitol Tattler out the door. "I have no idea how the Capitol Tattler got a press permit, but you put up with them really well. All right. I was told to brief you on the next person before you change." Gigi opened the envelope. "Oh! The Romario Gray Show! He's a lot of fun. Romario does really light-hearted interviews and stuff, and always plays some sort of game. Not sure what he'll be able to do in this room, but we'll see. So that means," Gigi switched her tone to address the stylists, "we need looks for camera, but they need to be jeans or leggings looks."

Everyone nodded, then, as the Seven girls were in their own suite, the girls retreated into their respective rooms to change. They came out, realized that Euodia and Nadina were wearing basically the same outfit, and then changed again. Meanwhile, Romario and his crew set up in the common room, and as the girls came out, the team did a few camera tests. Finally, everyone was ready to go.

"Romario Gray Show, District Seven. Mark!" said one of the two crew members, clacking some sort clapper board thing in front of a camera. "Rolling, and action!"

"Welcome back. I'm here with the District Seven girls whom Garnet picked, Elizah Klepper, Nadina Spencer, and Euodia Grove! It's good to meet you girls!"

"Thank you so much for having us," replied Elizah kindly.

"I'm sure you've heard a lot of the same questions today, so I'll try to keep the question section brief and then we'll play a game! So, let's start with the obligatory, how did it feel when Garnet picked you?"

"I'm a bit of a more mellow person, so it wasn't anything so big, but I was shocked. Happy, but surprised," Euodia started.

"I was pleased," Nadina said. "I think, even if we don't want to admit it, we all know what being picked could mean: it keeps our families safe, being in the Capitol, and can give us the means to provide for them."

"I was kind of confused," Elizah admitted, "but very flattered. And, I mean, it's always good to live. You know?"

"Of course," smiled Romario. "So you've been in the Capitol for almost three weeks now. What has been your favorite meal that you've had?"

The girls giggled. "I liked a roast beef they made us two weeks ago," Nadina said. "That was good."

"And I like the weird bubbles that taste like fruit," added Euodia. "They're really kind of funny. And feel weird in my mouth."

"My favorite was the district breads that we've had access to," Elizah said. "It was kind of cool to see each district's culture through their food. I really liked the fish-shaped loaf from Four."

"And who's your best friend in the Selection house?"

"I get along well with Khara, Pandora, Danira, Singer, and Lennox, but that was because we were all allied," said Euodia. "Elizah has also kind of found her way into that group. And we also get along quite well with Singer because she's in our suite. We've all been supporting Dania because she lost Kylis."

"Yeah," Elizah agreed. "Dania and I are pretty close. But we all get along at this point because we've been so focused on the Games, so there haven't been any major fights."

"All right!" Romario threw his question cards in the air. "Enough with the questions! Let's play a game! We're going to do the ultimate Lip Sync Battle with Euodia, Nadina, and Elizah after this."

"And cut!" said the crew member. "Great. Let's clear the room and prep for the game."

As things moved quickly in the room to set up, the Selection girls were a little bit confused. "What's a lip sync battle?" asked Elizah.

"I guess we'll find out," replied Euodia.

* * *

"Is this our last one?" Honey asked Bubblegum Tickles, Three's secondary escort, who was working with her and Danira that day. The girls had changed into their last outfits and were now sitting in their chairs, getting their makeup touched up again.

"I think so," Bubblegum said. "You mean this next one?"

"Yeah."

"Then yes, I think this is your last interview. Let's see who it is!" Bubblegum opened the last envelope. "Oh, you guys have POP! I love POP!"

"What's POP?"

"POP is the biggest network for teenagers in the Capitol. I say network because they have a TV show, a website, and a magazine, so the room is going to be pretty full with a cameraman, their interviewer, and some sort of recorder/writer as well. They do all kinds of fun and atypical interviews, games, they have quizzes and relatable lists, it's great. If you're a teen girl in the Capitol and you don't get POP, you're totally out of the loop. All right. Everyone ready to go?" The girls nodded. "OK. Good luck!"

Into the room came two women, one holding a pretty big camera. "Hey Bubblegum, can we clear the chairs for this interview?"

"I see no reason why not," Bubblegum said; she helped the two other women clear Honey and Danira's chairs and then set down a pretty purple cotton blanket on the floor.

"What's going on?" Danira asked Honey.

"I dunno. We'll have to see."

"All right, girls! I'm Nerissa, and I'll be interviewing you today. You can take a seat on the blanket, and do us a favor and close your eyes. We have a good surprise for you."

Honey and Danira looked at each other, slightly nervous, then looked at Bubblegum, who gave them an encouraging nod. They took a seat next to each other, then held hands as they closed their eyes. They waited for what seemed like forever, before Nerissa instructed them to open.

"AWWWW!" Danira exclaimed, taking in the litter of golden retriever puppies in front of her. "I love puppies! There are so many of them!"

"Six is not so many, Danira," Honey jokingly replied. "But they're all so gorgeous. We don't get all that many pets back in Six."

"As you might have guessed," Nerissa explained, "this is the puppy interview. Basically, you guys just answer simple, short, rapid-fire questions while playing with puppies. It's great!"

"This is the best interview ever."

The girls chatted with Nerissa casually for a little while, playing with the puppies, before Nerissa actually began the interview. "So, Danira, you'll answer first, then Honey. Ready for rapid-fire? Go!

"What is your favorite color?"

"Yellow."

"Orange!"

"What's your favorite number?"

"I don't have one."

"Pi, because I was born on Pi Day, March 14th."

"Who do you spend the most time with in the Selection house?"

"My alliance from the Games."

"I like Phoebe."

"Morning or night?"

"Morning."

"Morning!"

"Favorite thing about your district?"

"The people I love."

"Being able to learn a lot."

"What is the best thing you've done in the Capitol?"

"Eat well for three whole weeks."

"We haven't done all that much yet!"

Nerissa smiled. "Are you girls enjoying the puppies?"

Danira nodded eagerly. "I love animals. These guys are so cute."

"All right. Well, we need to take the puppies now. So say goodbye to them!"

Danira and Honey said goodbye to the six adorable golden retriever puppies before the assistant put them back into their carrier. The crew from POP left the room, leaving two girls who were very, very satisfied, and who now wanted puppies of their own.

* * *

 **Whoa, this chapter took a while to write. My apologies for that; there was a lot of development and stuff for this chapter and I just had trouble figuring out how to write it. And that last section wasn't my best work. Anyway.**

 **What did you think of our press day? Did any answers in particular stand out to you? Which interview would you want to be in?**

 **Next chapter we do the Victory ball, which is gonna have some fun plot stuff, and then we move into the Selection! Not sure how many more chapters in the story we're looking at, and I'm currently trying to figure out where to go next.**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and see you next time!**

 **-goldie031**


	52. The Victory Ball

_Thyra Sereno, 19, District Four_

* * *

"How'd press day go for you yesterday?" Phoebe asked Thyra as the two girls got into the first of two limousines waiting for them. (Neither was particularly sure why there were two instead of the normal one, but they supposed it didn't matter so much.) The Selection girls were being taken over to the location of the Victory Ball to get ready there, where they'd be meeting up with all of the living Victors as well.

"It went well. I got to play with puppies."

"You got to play with puppies?"

"Yeah, in my POP interview."

"Oh, when we did POP, we played with kittens. Puppies are so much better than kittens! They play back."

"I like kittens too. They're cute. Anyway. How'd it go for you?"

"Well. But you know what I heard?

"Tell me."

"I heard that only one magazine or TV station interviewed Pacifica. And the only reason that she didn't flip out is because the interviewer was Cobalt Emerald, Ruby's nephew, for HGHQ."

"Which must be why they put her in a room by herself. Is HGHQ the same channel that Harli and Dorian are on?"

"No, they do the broadcast on Channel One, which is the Capitol's government-supervised TV station."

"Ah."

The two fell silent; as they weren't particularly close, conversation between them rarely went past small talk, but both certainly enjoyed making conversation to pass the time. But, they'd be come fairly good friends when they learned that they shared the exact same birthday. On August 10th, five days prior, the two had both turned nineteen, an event that had been overshadowed by Kylis's death. It was rare to find someone who wasn't your twin with exactly your birthday, and so both girls were quite excited by it; they'd even made a promise to send each other birthday notes every year.

"I wonder why Garnet's been keeping Pacifica around for so long," Phoebe remarked. "The way she's been treating him and the whole Selection thing, I'm shocked President Emerald has allowed him to keep her."

"I think the President trusts her son. If there was an issue, they've probably already talked about it. After all, Ruby's image is at stake here as well."

"Yeah, I suppose."

"We have to trust the process. Which is a pain, but that's what we have to do."

Once all of the girls had gotten in their respective limousines (One through Five in the first limo, Six through Ten in the second), the two vehicles drove off. Ten or so minutes later, they arrived at a gorgeous mansion, which was once been the President's before Ruby moved into an apartment right near the Gamemakers' Center so that she could be more involved in the preparations for the Games. Now, the President's Mansion was reserved for select parties throughout the year, including all Games-related parties and such in the Capitol. While all of the Selection ladies had seen the mansion on TV, none of them had ever been inside.

The ladies were rushed into the mansion and split up into various rooms to get dressed. When they came out into the ballroom on the fourth floor, they found that they were all wearing the exact same dress: a white, one-shoulder, floor-length dress with a sash in their district color around their waist.

"OK, ladies!" Violet exclaimed. "Let me give you the low-down for the night. The ball will take place in the main ballroom, which spans the first floor and second floor. The guests will have some time to mingle, and then we will have introductions. First, you ladies will come out, then the living Victors, starting with the oldest living Victor and moving to the newest. Then, you're free to do whatever you want for the night. Garnet will be asking each of you to dance with him, and you are expected to accept the dance. We don't necessarily expect you to be too social, but when people come to you, you should introduce yourselves and be nice to them. People have their eyes on you, and this is your first opportunity to see what it's like to be a Capitol socialite. So make the best of it. If you allow yourself to have fun," Violet glared at Pacifica, "this'll be a great night!"

Thyra noticed that Bellona looked a little bit nervous. She went over to her side and put a hand on her back. "You good, Bellona?"

"My grandmother is going to be at the ball tonight. How am I going to face her?"

* * *

 _Lahainah Pele, 18, Capitol_

* * *

Lahainah wasn't sure what to think about the invitation she'd received to the Victory Ball. She was honored, sure, and happy that she could bring a plus one, but she had a feeling that things might go badly.

Not that they'd go badly for her. She was the one Selection girl who had more to lose by being picked than to gain; after all, she already had a boyfriend, and was never in danger of dying in the Games. But she knew that Lilith's heart had broken when Garnet didn't pick her, and Jemimah and Varinia hadn't been that much better initially, though both had gotten over it. But for the four girls to be in that close proximity to Garnet? That couldn't end well.

The one thing Lahainah had gained from being in the Selection was a relationship with the stylists, enabling her to design her own dress for the Victory Ball. It was about as fancy of an event as you could get, but not one where you want to be flashy, so Lahainah had settled on an ombre princess dress, starting with orange on top and going to red on the bottom. (It was Lahainah's personal preference to start with the lighter color in the gradient on the top, so Lavender Aroma's dress for the Victory Ceremony had bothered her a little bit.) She'd also styled her boyfriend, Hephaestus, putting him in a black tuxedo with a statement bowtie and cummerbund to match her dress. She put an orange carnation on his lapel and slicked back his hair, then looked him over until he was ready to go.

The two got into a rented car that took them over to the President's mansion. It was exciting for Lahainah to get an invitation to the President's mansion, as very few people her age had ever received one. It was quite the honor, and she knew she'd be the envy of her school friends when she got back.

When she entered the mansion, she and Hephaestus were escorted into a giant, two story ballroom with a gorgeous imperial staircase all the way on the other end. The room was lit up by three giant chandeliers, as well as candles on the table. A waiter came up to her and Hephaestus and offered them champagne, which they graciously took before beginning to mill around with the other guests. Lahainah felt a bit overwhelmed and star-struck, as she was one of the youngest in the room by a long shot, surrounded by government officials, Gamemakers, stylists, escorts, other dignitaries, and major Capitol celebreties. She eventually found a source of comfort in Varinia and her plus one, a district boy named Andrew. The two made some small talk, but were mostly just happy to have someone near their age and with whom they'd shared experiences. Lahainah also noticed that there were some notable non-Victors in attendance, specifically Rue McClellan, who had been brought back to life in the year of the 85th Games, and the Evans sisters, who had escaped the Fourth Quell.

After the half-hour-long cocktail "hour", the presentation of the Victors began. First, the Selection girls entered, wearing one-shoulder white dresses with sashes around their waist in their district color. They descended from the top of the staircase to the bottom in two lines, one coming from each side of the imperial staircase and meeting in the middle. When they got to the bottom, they formed an organized clump to the left of the staircase, leaving the bigger space on the right for the Victors.

Then, one by one, the Victors were announced (by Dorian, of course) and descended the staircase. Some of the older Victors, including Luna Puede from Five and Bat Watson from Ten, actually entered from the ground level and came out in front of the staircase. For the most part, the Victors descended alone in ascending order of year of Victory, but there were exceptions; all of the families with multiple Victors (Odair and Arroyo from Four, Pix-Lits, Hatch and Chaet-Terminus from Two, Laurel from Twelve, Sheaf from Nine, and Leilows from One) walked together in the spot of the oldest Victor in the family, and Tyranny Bomber from One and Quiinn Jones from Eleven walked together as co-Victors of the 100th Games (without the Hatch twins, as they entered with their parents). The female Victors were wearing essentially the same outfits as the Selection girls, just in black dresses with sashes, and the male victors were wearing tuxedos with their bow tie and cummerbund in their district color; Ares Lits, the only living Victor out of the gender binary, chose to wear the tuxedo. The process of introducing the Victors took a while because there were over seventy of them, all of whom had to walk down the stairs. But it was really cool to watch the elite tributes of Panem all in the same place; it was a Games-obsessed Capitol girl's dream!

Next, the Emerald family entered. While the family was wearing lots of different styles of dresses – it wouldn't be appropriate for Ruby's five- and six-year-old granddaughters to wear the same dress as her 22-year-old niece or 31-year-old daughter who was a mother, after all – in lots of different colors, each person had some sort of emerald green accent. After the family was introduced, the seven youngest Emeralds (those under Reaping age) were shepherded away, probably to go to bed, while everyone in Reaping age or above took their spot in front of the Victors.

Finally, Lavender and Carissa entered from opposite sides of the imperial staircase. The two were wearing gorgeous golden ballgowns that somehow looked appropriate for both an adult and a child. The Victors seemed to be floating, both basking in the reception that was for them and, at least in Lavender's case, enjoying their outfits very much. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Dorian announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Victors of the One Hundred and Twenty-Fifth Hunger Games, Carissa Lovarre and Lavender Aroma!"

After a polite round of applause, some nice, quiet, classical music began, and the assembled guests began to dance, have conversation, and do whatever you do at a ball; Garnet reached his hand out to Lavender to dance with her first, and Lahainah had a feeling Carissa was next. Watching the two of them dance was quite cute, more like a brother dancing with his baby sister than anything else.

Having never been to a ball before, Lahainah retreated to a small table with Varinia, Hephaestus and Andrew, and spent the night making small talk with each other, with Lilith and Jemimah, who found them midway through the evening, and with some of the other guests. Lahainah especially tried to talk to every stylist she could, to build her connections and her chances of being involved in the Games in the future. The night for them passed a bit slowly, but it was quite enjoyable, and at least for Lahainah, it wasn't nearly as awkward as she expected it to be.

* * *

 _Phoebe Nightingale, 19, District Five_

* * *

When Phoebe had heard that the Victors would be in attendance at the Victory Ball, she became ecstatic; it would be the first time that she had seen her dad since she was picked by Garnet. It took every bone of restraint in Phoebe's body for her not to run at her father the moment she saw him walk confidently down that gorgeous imperial staircase, but now that the Ball had started and people were milling around, she was free. "Daddy!" she exclaimed, on the verge of tears; Phoebe ran to her as fast as she could in her kitten heels and gave her father the biggest hug her little frame could. "I'm safe now, Daddy. You don't have to worry about me anymore."

"Oh, Phoebe. I'm so happy for you. For all of us, I guess. Happy belated birthday, my little baby."

Phoebe then caught a glimpse of her mother and sister working their way to the crowd towards her; she gave her mother a tight hug, then her sister. "Happy Birthday, Phoebe," Aisha said. "We made it out of Reaping age!"

"Happy birthday, Aisha."

The family of four made their way to a cocktail table, where Phoebe's mother presented her with her eighteenth birthday present. In District Five, it was traditional to give each child to get out of Reaping age a similar present: something with the image of an ancient lightbulb on it. Nobody knew how the lightbulb became a symbol of great ideas, but it was given to young adults in Five as a symbol of the ideas they might have in their futures. Phoebe received a necklace with a gold lightbulb pendant from her father that exactly matched her sister's.

The four Nightingales made some small talk before the inevitable questions came up. Phoebe was actually kind of impressed that her sister waited to ask for as long as she did; being twins, the two usually shared everything that happened to them (or almost everything), and Phoebe knew that her parents would want to know as well. So when Aisha diverted the topic to Garnet, Phoebe took a deep breath, ready to grin and bear the questions.

"So, do you like him?" asked Aisha, Phoebe's sister, elbowing the littler girl in the chest.

"I don't know," Phoebe admitted. "It's hard to tell when the focus has been so much on the Games. But no, I don't think I like Garnet." She opened her mouth to say something else, but then closed it, knowing how much trouble it could put her in.

"Come on," Aisha insisted, as she led her family to a cocktail table with four seats. "You can tell me this. I'm your sister!"

Phoebe looked at her father, then back at Aisha, then back at her father. She really shouldn't tell Aisha this, as Aisha wasn't always the best secret-keeper. But she was so close to her sister…

"Phoebe, will you have this dance with me?" asked Ali, her father. "A father-daughter dance, just like the old ball days." Phoebe eagerly nodded, gently took her father's hand, and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor.

"Thank you for getting me out of that jam, Daddy."

"Your welcome. Now can you tell me what you wouldn't tell Aisha?"

"I don't know," Phoebe admitted. "I need to tell someone, and I trust you, but it could get me into trouble."

Ali's brow furrowed. "I don't think you'd get in nearly as much trouble as I would if I said it. You're not a Victor nor the President's wife yet. You're just in such an awkward lee-way position between under their thumb and not under their thumb that I've never seen before. I'm worried about your mother or sister telling people, but I won't. You can tell me."

"And you won't tell anyone. Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise." Ali and Phoebe locked pinkies.

Phoebe sighed. "So I don't think I like Garnet. But I do think I like someone."

"Who do you like?" asked Ali, a bit suspiciously.

"I think I like Khara."

Before Ali even had time to react, they heard a commotion from the dance floor, where Garnet was dancing with Pacifica. Or, had been, at least. The two seemed to be fighting, slowly getting louder until Phoebe could make out Pacifica yell, "You're nothing but a stuck up, spoiled brat who has no concern for the emotions of others. I'm sick and tired of you and this whole Victory Ball shit and this whole Seleciton shit and I don't want to deal with it anymore!" She stepped on his toe and stormed out.

"Oof," Garnet said, rubbing his toe. "Tough crowd, huh? Don't let her ruin your fun. Carry on," he proclaimed, somehow, like a true President, keeping his composure through it all.

"That's not a good read for Pacifica," Ali said. "When is it your turn?"

"It's Bonnie and then me. We can dance a little bit longer."

Phoebe looked at Garnet, who had recovered gracefully and was now dancing with Bonnie. "I don't understand what he sees in Pacifica," she murmured to herself. "I just don't get it."

* * *

 _Lavender Aroma, 12, District One_

* * *

Lavender was already bored. Like, really bored

The dance with Garnet was lovely, and she'd enjoyed talking with him. But now she was really bored, and felt kind of out-of-place in the ball for one simple reason.

She was twelve.

Lavender was three years younger than the next closest person to her age, Khara Imperium from Five. While three years wasn't a huge age difference in the grand scheme of life, it was huge for girls under twenty; see, Khara had gone through puberty, and Lavender hadn't. She was physically and mentally in a much different state than anybody else in the room, and the people with whom she was closest in age were either Emeralds or Selection girls, none of whom were really approachable; the Emeralds were kind of like a cult, and the kids were on a completely different level than she was, and the Selection ladies had had a lot of shared experiences that distanced themselves from Lavender.

And then there was the daunting task of the inevitable future interactions with the other Victors. The closest Victor to Lavender's age was Byte Harper of Three, who was seventeen, still five years older; most likely, until she turned sixteen or seventeen, she would feel like the odd one out of them all. And being around so many people older than she would require her to portray herself as incredibly mature, way more mature than she would be with her peers. The Games naturally required one to be mature, but that was around other teens (or mostly teens); now, she'd be dealing with mostly adults.

To make things worse, the adults in the room seemed to see Lavender as _younger_ than twelve. They seemed to forget that she had been in a life-or-death situation and just looked at her like a little pet, someone they could pat on the head and say, "Good job!" to. The Capitolites talked down to her, because she was so young and because she was from the districts. It was annoying and demeaning, but she felt that there wasn't really anyone to whom she could talk about it.

Well, there was Carissa. But Carissa was catching up with Janari, and while she wanted the support of her older friend, she didn't want to totally ruin the dynamic between real sisters. Plus, she knew how annoying a little kid could be when they kept bugging you. And, as much as she hated to admit it, Lavender was little by the standards of the people at the Victory ball.

Not to mention that Lavender couldn't really pull off the "innocent twelve-year-old" act. That had worked great for Delilah Laurel, who was reaped at 12 but turned 13 the next day, and who won because the two other remaining tributes pushed each other off of the mountain. No, Lavender had actually killed someone; she had shed blood without ever shedding blood. Lavender thought for a moment about a Victor whose experience was similar to hers who could help her, and, luckily, found just the person.

Smash Hatch had killed four people during her Games, the youngest Career with kills in Games history as she was a few minutes younger than her twin, Smash. Yet somehow, she hadn't lost the bubbly and cheerful personality that she was known for in Two, and she'd garnered a reputation for being one of the nicest Victors in the district. While, admittedly, the Fourth Quell was an odd Games, it was comforting to know that someone even younger than Lavender had such a similar experience to her, and even better, it was in a Quell.

Lavender took her Shirley Temple and walked over to the Victor with the distinctive, long, raven-black hair who was in conversation with her twin and Tyranny Bomber, all of whom won the same Games. She took a deep breath and tapped Smash on the shoulder.

"Hello, Lavender! Welcome to the club of Quell Victors!" Smash exclaimed. "You were so good in the Games; all of us for Two were really impressed."

"Thank you. Can I talk to you for a bit, Smash?"

"Of course. Do you want your mentor, Tyranny, there?"

"No. I just want to talk to you."

Smash looked at Tyranny, who gave the other Victor a nod; the two found a little sofa and took a seat. "What's up, Lavender?"

"I feel really little and out of place," Lavender lamented. "Like, everyone here is so much older than me and all the Victors are so much older than me and… and more or less the same thing happened to you."

"But I will say that it's harder for you, because you've got this ball thing. I never had that. But yes, the next five or six years will be hard for you because you're so much younger than everyone. The best possible situation for you would be for next year's Victor… one of next year's Victors to be near your age. But that probably won't happen."

"So how'd you deal with it?"

"You just need to remember is that everyone else has had a comparable experience to yours. No two Victors had exactly the same experience, but everyone's is similar in some way. And you're not so much younger than Byte. And eventually, you'll get a group of other Victors who are around your age and with whom you can talk and such, especially because there are now two Victors per Games. And remember, twelve-year-old Victors are really rare. So that'll be a feather in your cap. And… well, you remind a lot of us Victors of our own kids. Like mine. My oldest daughter is eleven, which is close to your age. So I'm sure that you'll find your way; it just might take some time. And I'm willing to help you, too, and I'm sure Carissa will as well. Just let things happen, and begin to get to know the other Victors. They'll all love you, just be you! Does that help?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Smash."

"Always."

* * *

 _Melvina Crusoe, 17, District Nine_

* * *

"Why hasn't Garnet danced with me yet?" complained Melvina, taking another sip of her virgin pina colada. "The night is getting late. He's going to run out of time!"

"Don't worry, Melvina," Dania said, now playing the role of calmer-downer. "There's probably still a lot of time. I'm sure Garnet is keeping track of things so he dances with everyone."

"But he's been with Elizah for so long now! I want a turn!"

"He's going in district order, then reverse age order. You'll have a turn right after Singer."

"Meh." Melvina took another swig of her drink, then put it down exasperatedly on the little cocktail table. This was exasperating! Clearly, she and Garnet were meant to be. She needed something to keep herself busy while she was waiting for her turn with Garnet. As she scanned the room, she came across something that greatly interested her.

Melvina noticed that Khara and Phoebe were sitting together at a table, talking quietly with each other. They seemed to be getting along nicely; their conversation was animated, and Melvina could have sworn that she saw sparks in one of their eyes. "I should match Khara and Phoebe!" she exclaimed, then clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Melvina. No. That's a bad idea," Dania insisted.

"But wouldn't it be so fun? Only one of us is gonna get picked, and it's probably going to be me, so why not make Garnet's life easier by ruling some people out?"

"Is it illegal?"

"Why would it be?"

"Because it's going against the intention of the Selection. If they happened to fall in love, that's one thing, but if you make it happen, that could be going against the President's wishes, which is a problem."

"What's the worst that could happen?" Melvina downed her drink and set off on a mission to bring together two people; little did she know that the sparks had already been flying, though only one girl was able to realize it.

* * *

 _Carissa Lovarre, 18, District Two_

* * *

Carissa was feeling a little bit torn. She felt that she was being pulled in two different directions, and she wasn't quite sure how to handle that.

On the one hand, there was Janari, her baby sister. Being apart had taken a toll on Janari; she wanted to spend any and every moment she could with Carissa. The older Lovarre didn't mind; the two girls had always been close, and it was a pleasure to spend time with Janari. But there was only so much she could say to Janari that Janari would understand; those who hadn't entered the Games could only relate so much to the experiences of those who had been through them.

On the other hand, there was Lavender, her co-Victor. The two were close as well, but in a different way, that of people who had shared a difficult experience. (Difficult might have been an understatement.) Carissa knew that she'd be spending a ton of time with the little one in the next year, so she wanted to spend time with her sister that night, especially as nobody knew how long Janari would be in the Capitol for. But Lavender looked so bored surrounded by so many older people; Carissa felt bad for her, and also felt guilty that she didn't want to talk to her or help her. She did like Lavender a lot, but she liked Janari more.

Even more difficult for her was that nobody else had had the same experience as her. Not since the Fourth Quell had multiple Victors won, and they hadn't all been quite as close as Carissa and Lavender were. Carissa had noticed that Lavender found solace with Smash, a Victor whose Games were similar to hers, but there was nobody else to give Carissa the support she specifically needed.

Carissa kept an eye on Lavender over the course of the night, but after her conversation with Smash, things seemed to be going better for her. That took a weight off of her shoulders, allowing her relax into conversation with Janari for most of the night. Carissa had a feeling that she'd never completely figure out how to handle things between her sister and her Victor, but she had to quickly; Carissa knew that, if a future Victor had the same debate, she and Lavender would be asked for advice, so she needed to figure out how to handle it herself.

As the ball was winding down, Garnet tapped Carissa on her shoulder. "Can I steal you away, Carissa?"

"Of course." Carissa said good night to Janari, giving her a huge hug as she didn't expect to see her sister again before leaving for home. Then, she followed Garnet to retrieve Lavender, who was in deep conversation with, of all people, Mariana Arroyo, and the three found their way to a small side room in the mansion.

"First of all, ladies, as I said in my individual dances with you, congratulations on your Victory. Panem is proud to have two strong ladies like you representing your districts. I have called you in today to talk to you about a plan that we will be putting into place before next year's Games. We have been working on putting this plan together for a few weeks now, and it's important to me that you two are on the same page as my mother and me. That is not to say that you can do anything about the change – it's going to happen either way – but I wanted to make sure that you had some advance warning. If this works, I truly think it will change Panem for the better."

* * *

 **Surprise! Lahainah came back! I had that idea pretty late in the writing process, but I thought it served the chapter really well. I hope you enjoyed the Victory Ball!**

 **What did y'all think of the chapter? What exactly happened between Pacifica and Garnet? Should Phoebe tell? What is Melvina doing? How will Lavender get through this? What is the plan?**

 **One other poll-type question for you: Do you see Garnet and Ruby as heroes, villains, or neither?**

 **I've got something killer planned for next chapter. I'm definitely excited to see how things proceed from here with the Selection. Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you next time!**

 **-goldie031**


	53. Selection: Now a Rebel with a Cause

"Garnet, what are you planning to do about Pacifica?" Ruby asked her son after all the guests had left. "I didn't argue when you picked her, but tonight drew the line. What did you two talk about that made her explode that way?"

"The interactions I have with the Selection girls are none of your business."

"Are you thinking of marrying her?"

"That's technically none of your business, but no, I am not planning on it in the slightest."

Ruby sighed. "So why are you keeping her?"

"Because I don't want her to go into the Games."

Ruby stopped and tried to understand her son's logic. "You don't like her, but you don't want her to go into the Games. Usually, when we don't like people, we want them to go into the Games. So this doesn't make sense to me. You wanna explain?"

Garnet smiled. He sometimes enjoyed confusing his mother. "I don't want her to go into the Games because she wants to go into the Games. I'm punishing her," he explained, with the matter-of-factness of a two-year-old.

Ruby paused again. "Maybe you do have a bit of my great-grandfather in you. You know, there's a much easier way to do this."

"What?"

"I can just make a ruling that none of the Selection girls may volunteer for the Games. They won't have to worry because of the new ruling anyway, and they don't go into the Reaping pool because they're Selection girls."

"It's that simple?"

"Not always, but in this case, yes. It can be that simple."

Garnet smiled again. That would kill two birds with one stone: keep Pacifica out of the Games, and keep Bellona out. "That would be great. Thank you, mom."

"Of course, honey. If you'd like, you can talk to Pacifica now. I had Violet hold her back."

"That'd probably be the easiest. This way I can get her out of my hair."

* * *

 _Pacifica Corwin, 18, District Four_

* * *

Pacifica wasn't quite sure what to think when Violet Emerald held her back from the rest of the girls. A part of her wanted to be with the other girls because her outburst during the Ball probably didn't do her any favors. On the other hand, she was just done with the whole Selection business; all she wanted to do was go home and train for next year's Games, hopefully, to get a leg up on Calytrix. So maybe good things could come out of this.

A few moments later, she saw Garnet coming up to her. She had to admit, he did look pretty handsome in his signature garnet-red bow-tie and cummerbund. But looks could be deceiving, and Pacifica was madder at that man than anyone else in her life. "Hello again, Garnet," she smirked.

"Pacifica," Garnet began coldly, "I have come to let you know that I have not selected you to be my wife. You will be leaving immediately back to District Four; if you need anything in your room, someone else will be asked to retrieve it for you as it is too late to go back to the Selection house now. Thank you for your time here." And with that, he left.

Pacifica was pretty relieved that she didn't get any sort of punishment, but she was still a bit wary, especially considering how cold Garnet was to her. But she allowed herself to be escorted to the train by Ellis, then asked to retrieve her suitcase from her room (which she'd never unpacked). Upon arrival, she was passed off, so to speak, to Four's primary escort from the Games, Gallus Van Der Burg, so Ellis could go back to the Selection house with the other girls from Four. Pacifica retreated to her room on the train for the relatively short train ride back home; for the first time in a few weeks, she felt totally calm. She took off her dress and put on a pair of leggings and a tank top, something in which she was a bit more comfortable.

Suddenly, she heard a knock at the door. Pacifica opened it to find an Avox standing there. That was odd. "What do you want?" she asked irritably.

"My name is Alexios Nox, and I need a rebel leader."

Pacifica stood back. Avoxes weren't supposed to talk. Not to mention that Avoxes weren't supposed to exist; President Emerald, in one of her better moves, had gotten rid of the practice fifteen years prior. Something was definitely weird, but some sort of morbid curiosity led her to want to know more. She stepped back allowing Alexios to enter and close the door behind him.

"What do you mean a rebel leader? Why do you want me? I'm going to go into the Games. I'm gonna beat Calytrix for my spot."

"That's not something you'll be able to do. I heard through the grapevine that President Emerald is planning to release a formal announcement that says that Selection girls may not volunteer for the Games due to their close ties to the Capitol and potential bias from the Gamemakers."

Pacifica paused for a moment. Rage bubbled up in her in a way that she'd never experienced before. That damn Garnet had totally eliminated any chances of her fulfilling her dreams to enter the Games! "That fucking sucks! Fucking Garnet! I'm gonna rip his head off."

Pacifica continued to rage and scream and throw things; she noticed, however, that Alexios wasn't responding. She turned to him. "And what did you want to gain by telling me this?"

"I wanted to get you mad."

"Well, you succeeded. I'm so pissed! Why do other people get to do what I can't?! It's all Garnet's fault."

"And doesn't it bother you that you're leaving the Capitol in the middle of the night, like a criminal?"

"Yeah, that does bother me." Anger and frustration were building up inside of Pacifica.

"Pacifica, if you can't be in the Games, do you think anyone else should be able to? Why can't we work together to stop them? I recently lost my teen leader; you could be one of the strongest members of the Anti-Snow/Emerald movement."

Vision colored red, Pacifica saw nothing but validity in Alexios's statement. "You're so right, Alexios. I'll join you.

"If I can't be in the Games, nobody can."

* * *

 **Well, there we go! I didn't expect this to happen with Pacifica last week, but then this kind of happened. And now you see why CJ is so important to this story. What do you think?**

 **I also wanted to point something out really quick regarding the Ruby/Garnet debate in the reviews. Remember that President Snow put in a no-change clause regarding the Games, meaning that legally, Ruby couldn't change the Games until after the 125** **th** **Games, which (obviously) just finished. Just putting that out there for your consideration, in case that changes anyone's mind.**

 **This is the last chapter that I can guarantee before I leave to work at my camp for the summer. I'm on pretty much 24/7 with my kids, all going into fourth grade, so we'll see how much writing I get done. I'm shooting for once every other week or so, but I might not be able to do it. We'll see…**

 **In other news, I've got a new SYOT out! It takes place ten years after MMAM ends (more or less), and it may be more different than any other SYOT you've ever seen. Please read the chapter for more info!**

 **Thank you all so much for your support. I'll see you next chapter, whenever that is.**

 **-goldie031**


	54. Selection: Homeward Bound, Part Two

"Hey, Mom?" Garnet asked, as he straightened up his papers prior to the second round of eliminations. "How will I know when I find The One?"

"What do you mean?"

Garnet tried to explain more clearly. "Like, how do you know the person you're supposed to marry?"

Ruby stopped for a second. Her son had asked her some tough questions in his lifetime, but this one might have taken the cake. "You know, Garnet? I'm going to be honest. I don't know for sure. I might ask your aunts and cousins to answer that, because I had an arranged marriage and they didn't. Why do you ask?"

"Because I think I know."

"Who you're going to marry?"

"Yes," Garnet smiled. "There was something last night that I… it just felt so, so right to me with one of the girls. I think she's the one."

"If it feels right for you, then I think that's it. You know? If you want, you can totally ask Cerise or Violet or someone. But you've always known what was right for you, ever since you were a little kid. I think that, if you know, you should trust your gut." Ruby paused. "Question for you, though. What does this mean from a competition timing perspective? As in, when am I making a formal announcement?"

"I don't know. Because I do feel kind of bad of just cutting them all loose. I feel like I want to have a reason that I'm eliminating them."

"I mean, you don't need a reason. This whole thing is subjective anyway. Whatever; if it makes you feel better, I'm OK with it. How about you… I don't know… do some sort of challenges? Talk to Violet. She has a good mind for this kind of stuff. Do you think you'll be done by August 25th?"

"That's nine days away. No shot."

"September 25th?"

"Maybe doable. Let's see how it goes, but I don't want to make any promises I can't keep."

"A boy after your own mother. All right, good luck today, Garnet. I'll see you later."

Ruby left the room through the back door as Violet came in to the front, translucent purple clipboard in hand. "All right, Garnet. Let's double-check the order again?" Garnet skimmed the list. "It's a bit easier today because we only have four girls, I think."

"But it's got its harder aspect; these girls might take it harder."

"What you did last time worked. Keep doing that." Garnet nodded. "First girl coming in. Good luck, Garnet!"

The first girl to enter the room was Nadina Spencer from Seven. She tucked her hair behind her ear nervously as she came in and sat across from Garnet. "Hello, Garnet," she said. "How are you?"

"I'm good, Nadina," said Garnet. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well, thank you. Why did you call me here?" She asked, not intending to sound nearly as rude or as pushy as she came across.

"I have, in fact, called you here because I have not selected you as my wife."

Nadina was stunned into silence. It wasn't that she liked Garnet all that much, but she was definitely hoping to succeed in order to provide better for her family. In fact, she'd told Garnet as much the day before at the Victory Ball.

Maybe that was why he'd sent her home.

"Well, thank you so much for the opportunity," Nadina said, deciding to get up and leave before she could say anything else that would screw her over.

Violet came in after Nadina went out. "Are you gonna do anything about that?"

"No. She's not really my concern anymore. I've noticed that Nadina has a tendency to not always say the best thing at the right time, which she proved to me at the Ball when she told me that she was really more in it for the money. That's a liability as the President's wife, and I don't want to deal with it anymore. I don't think either of us wants to say anything one of us will regret."

"OK. Next girl."

Garnet knew as soon as the other girl came in that he'd need to take a different approach with her. Because unlike Nadina, who came in completely confidently, Honey Voltas slunk into the room and took a seat in the chair, very careful not to mess anything up in the room or to do anything that could be a problem. This was going to be much tougher.

"Hello, Honey," said Garnet gently. "How are you?"

"I'm good, Mr. Garnet sir. How are you?"

"I'm well, thank you. I know that you've had a rough go of it, so I think it would be best for you to be with your family. I'm sorry, but I have not chosen you to be my wife."

A small smile creeped onto Honey's face before she closed her lips; she seemed to be kind of happy to be going, but also thought that it was wrong to seem happy. "Well, thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Garnet sir."

"I noticed that you made friends with Andrew Chaff at the Victory Ball. If you'd like to write to him, I can make that happen."

"That'd be very nice, Mr. Garnet sir. Thank you."

"No problem. Thank you, Honey."

The girl cautiously stood up, then allowed Violet to lead her out. No explanation was needed; Honey was clearly uncomfortable in the situation, and it was better for everyone involved for her to go home. Violet shut the door, waited two seconds, then poked her head out to indicate to the next girl that it was time to come in.

Euodia Grove was a smart kid. She'd noticed the pattern in the visits to Private Room G, and with the pattern continuing through that day, she knew she was going home. But, procedure and politeness would dictate that she let him break the news, and so she came in, knowing exactly what would happen.

"Hello, Euodia."

"Hi, Garnet. How's it going?"

"It's good. You seem like you know exactly what's about to happen."

"I think I do."

"So, tell me."

"I think you're about to tell me that you're not choosing me as your wife."

"That is a perfect analysis. How'd you figure that out?"

"Every other girl that has been called into Private Room G has been sent home. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing to be sent home, but that's happened to everyone. But, thank you very much for the opportunity, Garnet."

"Of course, Euodia. And by the way, my mom asked me to tell you to give your father her regards."

"No problem. As I'm in the political sphere, I'm sure I'll be seeing you again."

"Goodbye, Euodia."

Violet led Euodia out, then closed the door. "Euodia seemed to be a frontrunner to me. I kind of liked her, especially knowing her family. Explain sending her home?"

"Euodia is already too involved in politics and too much of a debater to be a calm wife. If I'm President and I'm making decisions, my wife needs to be someone much, much softer and more soft-spoken, that the nation can love and get behind a lot more."

"Fair. Do you need a break before the last one?" she asked.

"No. Let's finish up to get everyone home."

"All right. One more girl." Violet stepped out yet again, then let in the last of the day's eliminated ladies.

"Hello there, Thyra."

"Hi, Garnet."

"I hope you've been enjoying your time in the Capitol?"

"I have, thank you. It's been nice."

"Very good. Unfortunately," Garnet continued a bit more harshly, but not that much, "I have not selected you to be my wife."

"Oh. Well, thank you very much." Thyra stood up to leave, then, almost as though she couldn't control what she was going to say, turned back. "Garnet?"

"Yes?"

"I wanted to thank you. I didn't know that some men didn't look down on women, which was always a bit of a problem for me at home with the male trainees. But you've really made me feel better about the way I can be treated, with how nice you were to the younger girls and all of the things you tried to do for us, especially because you didn't have to be and were kind of forced into it. I really appreciate it. Maybe there is hope for your sex."

Garnet smiled. "Thank you, Thyra. That means a lot."

Thyra stood by awkwardly, then quickly and abruptly walked out of the room.

"That was nice of her to say," Violet said as she came back in.

"Yeah. Thyra is usually a little bit more brash, and also has a tendency to say things that she'll regret. That was a bit out of character for her, but I wonder if some thought she had softened her a bit more than normal...

"Anyway, Violet! Before you go. We have to talk about some stuff. I have some ideas and I need some help."

* * *

Lavender and Carissa stood in front of the Training Center, awaiting the cars that would drive Lavender to the train station and Carissa back home; as one train was needed to take Honey east to Three, and one was needed to loop a bit west and then north to hit One, Four, and Seven, everyone decided that it would be easier to just have Carissa take a car home as Two was due south of the Capitol. But that meant that the Victors would be splitting up for the first time in about three weeks.

"Well, this is goodbye, I guess," Carissa said, a bit of sadness in her tone.

"Yeah."

A small pause followed before Lavender launched herself into Carissa's arms. "I'm gonna miss you! You're like my big sister now!"

"I know, Lavender. We'll see each other soon for the Victory Tour. And maybe we can visit each other in between."

"That'd be nice."

The first car pulled up. "That's my ride. I love you, Carissa." The girls embraced one last time, before Lavender got into the car and it drove off.

Carissa felt a bit lonely. She had no Janari and no Lavender. For the first time in weeks, there were no other girls her age around; it was just her.

A moment later, the elevator dinged. Carissa recognized the stunning blonde as Arabelle Pick, Victor of the 123rd Games. "Congratulations," said Arabelle, coming up to Carissa. "I don't know if I ever introduced myself to you. I'm Arabelle. I'm really glad that you won; the last time that a girl from Two won was Smash Hatch, who is now 36. And that's a long way off from 20. It's nice to have a girl so much closer to my age. The boys just don't get it."

Carissa took Arabelle's outstretched hand and gave it a strong shake. "Carissa. It's nice to formally meet you! You know that I'm a bit of a package deal with Lavender, right?"

"Yeah, we've all been talking about Lavender," Arabelle admitted. "I do want to do my best to help her through the next few years because she is so young. It's hard to be a lot younger than your counterparts. You probably remember when I won because it was nine years after Orion did; 18 years old to 27 years old doesn't seem like a large age difference but it really is, especially when I was just coming off of the Games. So I'm sure that it's gonna be hard for her until some other Victors around her age win. But we'll do our best to help, and I'm sure the older Victors will think she's like their daughter or granddaughter, so they'll like her." Suddenly, a car pulled up. "You ready to go home, Carissa?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"I'll be escorting you back; Mesa has some other stuff to deal with. And honestly, I think that the older Victors wanted us to bond."

"I don't mind that."

The car ride home was fast; Carissa was driven right to the train station in Two. When she got there, she exited the car proudly and strongly, like the Victor she was. She first wen to hug her father, who gave her a tight hug. "I always knew you could do it."

"We're thrilled. Over the moon," her mother added, embracing her daughter next. "How's Janari doing?"

"She seems OK," Carissa replied. "Still in the running for Garnet, but I'm not sure how much longer that'll last. We'll see."

Carissa then greeted her friends, Dari and Sandiva, before going back home with her parents to the Victor's Village, in the house right next to Arabelle's. As different as her life was now, there was still something nice about being home.

* * *

The train headed to One, Four, and Seven was about to make its first stop. Lavender stood at the door, ready to receive the crowds that were waiting for her. Her reception at the train station was big, as it had been eight years since One had brought home a Victor. The Selection girls watched through the train's tinted windows as Lavender turned into a twelve-year-old for the first time that they could remember, hugging her friends and simply acting like a kid, something she'd never really been allowed to do. Then, she gave her mother a tight embrace, and as the train pulled away behind them, the two moved towards their home in Victor's Village, across from Jasper; Lavender was immediately greeted by Jasper's six-year-old daughter Jada who was thrilled to have a new playmate.

The train's next stop was in District Four, where Thyra disembarked with her suitcase, her family waiting for her at the station. Immediately Margaery, Thyra's younger sister, ran into her arms; though Thyra was hardened by life, she burst into tears at the sight of her little sister, whom she had missed more than anyone. Now, Margaery (and all of Thyra's other siblings) were safe from the Reaping, and would only enter the Games if they wanted to, which was a huge weight off of everyone's shoulders. Her family escorted her back home, where Thyra gave them all big hugs, returned the things they'd sent her in the suitcase, and told them all about her time in the Capitol. For years, Margaery would brag about her "big thithter" who got to go to the Capitol and came back, and even got to meet Garnet!

For Thyra, returning home meant a return to an age-old argument she'd had with her parents: what Thyra would do with her future. Her parents wanted her to marry a sailor and stay home to care for their children, which is what their family had done for generations. A few tense weeks followed before the solution fell in their laps. District Four realized that it was extremely beneficial for them to have a chosen volunteer return without the responsibilities associated with Victory; Thyra would be able to spend the whole year, most likely, working with trainees, and wouldn't have to worry about going back and forth to the Capitol when called. When the Career Academy came to the Sereno house to ask Thyra to take the post, she couldn't exactly say no, and so moved to the center of the district to begin her career as a trainer.

* * *

The first train's last stop was District Seven, where Euodia and Nadina got off, gave each other a cordial handshake, and retreated to their respective areas of the district. Though the two were different girls, they would forever be bonded by their experience, and made sure to check in and say hi on each subsequent Reaping Day.

Nadina returned home to her family, who for some reason didn't know she was coming back. She made sure to embrace her siblings and stepfather first before giving her mother Violet the biggest hug of all. Lila even let Nadina hold her teddy bear for a little bit… until she began screaming and demanded it back.

As Nadina and her stepsiblings Roderick and Sabria weren't eligible for the Reaping anymore, they were all able to get steady jobs to help the family. The three ended up employees for the same logging company in Seven; Sabria and Nadina chopped down the trees while Roderick helped move them. With five people bringing income to the Spencer home, they were able to get a slightly nicer house and keep Lila in school for longer, meaning more comfortable living conditions for everyone.

On the richer end of the district, things looked good for Euodia. She arrived home to discover that President Emerald had gotten to the bottom of the whole Reaping mess and that it had been rigged for her by Mayor Lafe; deeper investigation by the President and her people led them to discover that there had been bribery involved leading to a fudging of the vote count. The news of these scandals was never _formally_ announced to District Seven, but well-placed rumor spreaders by the President had caused an uproar in Seven, with early elections called for a few months later. It was almost a guarantee that Cyprus Grove would be Mayor before the year was out.

In deciding her career path, Euodia was torn. She wanted to go into debate and politics, but was reluctant to. Firstly, she was concerned that rumors might spread that her father had had influence in getting her elected. And secondly, she knew that her reputation in Seven wasn't the greatest after the scene she made at the Reaping. But, she'd spent her whole life preparing for debate and politics. In a slightly unusual move for her, Euodia elected to wait and see what opportunities fell into her lap.

And fate didn't disappoint.

* * *

Honey Voltas was the last of the four eliminated Selection girls to return home, getting back to Three in the middle of the night but not getting off the train to go home until early in the morning. She was not thrilled to be returning home to her mother without her brother to support her, but knew that Andrew Chaff was always just a letter away. The next two years of Honey's life would be nearly torture for her, as Bea insisted on reminding her incessantly about "Sugar's bravery in the Games" and "her slow and painful death." Honey's much more supportive father, Vespa, would do his best to help her through things, but even he was only so powerful against the woman known as The Vulture on their street.

Honey would return to the Capitol four times before she became an adult: once for the announcement of Garnet's wife, twice for events relating to the the Victory Tour, and once to "help mentor tributes" for the 126th Games. All of those occasions were really just ways to get her back to see Andrew. They weren't able to see each other for all that long, but valued the little moments they spent together. The two would keep in close contact via letters for the remainder of the years that they spent apart, and they were so detailed that the twins felt like they lived next door to each other.

The biggest goal of the time after the Selection, during which she couldn't be Reaped, was to lay the groundwork for Honey's future. The girl planned and worked, dealing with her mother's critiques all the way through. Then, when Honey turned 18 on March 14th in the year of the 127th Games, she (with her father and brother's help) left home. She got a job working in one of the bigger tech companies in Three, and, as time went on, began to embody more of her brother, even coming out of her shell a little bit

Because, out of her mother's shadow for the first time, Honey felt truly free.

* * *

 **Farewells**

 **18** **th** **Place: Nadina Spencer, District Seven**

 **Nadina was a really nice, family-oriented tribute who didn't always stick out much, honestly, but in a story like this that's kind of to be expected. I loved to play with someone fearless and brave like she is, but had fun playing with her softer side too. Thanks, Dreamer, for Nadina, and I'm sorry I didn't showcase her as much as I could have in a smaller story; I hope you stick around to see who wins!**

 **17** **th** **Place: Honey Voltas, District Three**

 **With all of the craziness surrounding Honey earlier in the story, I always knew she'd leave the Selection early; she just isn't Garnet's type. It was so fun for me to play with Honey and Drew, and I know that their whole plotline is going to come back to the universe in a big way. Thanks, Mik, for Honey, and I'm sure you'll stick around till the end!**

 **16** **th** **Place: Euodia Grove, District Seven**

 **Like with Honey, I knew Euodia couldn't win the Selection. She'd had her time to shine at the beginning of the story, and that was definitely enough for me, but as I'm sure you gathered, she'll be coming back later on. Fun fact about her, though: Euodia was my original Games Victor. Yeah, that changed a lot. Thanks, Tigris, for Euodia. I really enjoyed writing for her and showcasing her a little early on, and I'm excited to still have her in my universe.**

 **15** **th** **Place: Thyra Sereno, District Four**

 **Thyra was one of those characters that had great qualities that kept getting overshadowed by others with similar qualities. She was a Career with a good backstory, but there were other Careers with good backstories. She valued family, but other tributes also valued family. It was sometimes hard to distinguish her, but I think a life of training other tributes suits Thyra well. Thanks, LokiThisIsMadness, for Thyra, and I hope you stick around to see Dania's fate!**

* * *

 **Whoo! Bit of an overdue chapter, but I've been busy preparing to be a counselor at camp. In about two days, I'll be responsible for the health and safety of 15 girls. So that's a bit frightening.**

 **Anyway, I don't think any of these eliminations were too surprising. I know that I didn't go so far into the future with Lavender and Carissa, but that's because we're still going to see more of them as major characters in the universe. Were any of you surprised about who got eliminated? What kinds of things do you think Garnet will do to get a basis of elimination for the girls!**

 **I also want to introduce y'all to my mentor Mik! Mik was super helpful in figuring out the progression of this story to get to my endgame. The FanFic Writers' Mentor-Mentee Network is still open to new people, just send a PM to Wetstar for more info!**

 **I think that's it for the chapter. No promises on the timing of the next one, because I get my campers soon!**

 **Thank you for your continued support!**

 **-goldie031**


	55. Selection: Mind Games

_Pandora Eurydice Zachery, 16, District Five_

* * *

Pandora had certainly expected that, within the Selection house, rumors would spread. That was natural with so many girls in such a small space. And they had; people talked about other girls' outfits, how they were interacting with Garnet – almost anything that could be talked about was being talked about! But two particular rumors that had been spreading around the Selection house had caught Pandora's attention. And today, she intended to get to the bottom of them, especially because their source, Melvina, was notoriously inconsistent in the truth of the many things she spread.

After getting dressed and ready, Pandora rummaged through her suitcase from home and pulled out her personal chess set. Unlike in standard chess sets, the pieces were in her two favorite colors, yellow and navy blue, and the board's checkerboard pattern matched as well. She brought it with her to the common area and sat down at a table, waiting for what would inevitably happen.

Moments later, the first rumor Pandora had heard was confirmed. _Well, maybe rumor is too strong of a word. More like a piece of information that had been circulated to me,_ she thought, as Khara Imperium approached her.

"Hey, Pandora! I didn't know you play chess!"

"Yeah. I heard that you were pretty good at the game and I wanted to challenge you."

"Well, bring it on."

Pandora intelligently decided to just play the first game and not try to push anything. The girls were about evenly matched, though each clearly had her preferred strategy that differed from that of the other girl. In the end, Khara won the first game, but Pandora immediately demanded a rematch. As they played through the second game, Pandora began to interrogate her district partner; now was as good a time as any to get some answers. Having spent nearly a month with Khara by this point, Pandora knew that her district partner had a tendency to talk a bit too much, and she planned to use that quality to her advantage.

"So, Khara," Pandora asked, carefully moving one of her pawns, "do you like Garnet?"

"I'm not sure," Khara said. "I mean, he's nice and all, and I certainly appreciate that he picked me. But if we're going with love? No, I don't think I love him."

"Do you like anyone?"

The slightly younger girl sighed. "I… I can't tell. I always thought I was straight, but lately I've been feeling… something else."

"What something else?" Pandora urged her friend on.

"I think I love a girl. It just feels so unnatural to love a girl, you know? Like all my life I've seen boys who liked boys and girls who liked girls, but I just never thought I would."

"Which girl?"

Khara made a foolish chess move. "Phoebe."

"Checkmate."

* * *

 _Bonnie Clearwater, 17, District Four_

* * *

Bonnie knew that the day would be different from the moment she woke up. After all, it wasn't every day that a purple envelope sat on one's night table. Bonnie carefully slid it open and read the piece of card stock inside.

 _Being involved in the President's family means having one's priorities straight. Please be dressed and in the common room, ready for an audience with Garnet, by 9:30._

A pit immediately formed in Bonnie's stomach. Every other girl who'd had an audience with the President's son had been sent home that very day. On the other hand, though, the wording of the letter implied that there was something bigger going on. And that was, admittedly, kind of nerve-racking in its own right. Bonnie still wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to marry Garnet, but she was certainly becoming less frustrated with the idea of just being his friend. And a part of her really wanted to further explore those emotions; getting sent home certainly wouldn't help her do that.

Bonnie looked at her wardrobe. She had the feeling that she didn't need to go too fancy this time around, but a skirt would probably be a good idea. Bonnie selected a casual, flowy teal blouse and a green pencil skirt, then slid her feet into a simple pair of black flats. She brushed her long, golden-brown hair, then slid in a headband to match her top. Applying minimal makeup, just enough to make her purpley-blue eyes pop, she couldn't help but feel like she was getting ready for another Reaping. She gave herself one last look-over in the mirror, then made her way to the common room for breakfast.

When she arrived, Bonnie instantly registered that she likely wasn't going home. After all, it seemed that everyone was getting ready for an audience. Nobody was really that much fancier than she was, except Melvina, whose dress was just a step less fancy than the one she wore for the Victory Ball. The girls milled around anxiously, just waiting for confirmation about what they'd be doing.

At 9:30, everyone was down in the common room and ready to go. Violet came in carrying her clipboard, and everyone instinctively turned their attention to her.

"Good morning, ladies," Violet began, "and welcome to your first evaluation. Each evaluation task will be different, and a way for Garnet to learn about the type of leader you'll be for our country. Today, your task will center around your personal priorities.

"In a moment, I'll call you in one by one to Private Room F. When you walk in, you'll find ten flags. Each of you will choose three of them and rank them in order of importance to you. It's that simple. There is no right answer, and there is not necessarily a wrong answer; however, Garnet may do his next round of eliminations based on this test. Please do not think about the kind of answers someone else might want to see; we are only concerned in this test with who _you_ are. Does everyone understand? Excellent. Let's go. For this challenge, we'll be doing it in alphabetical order by first name, so Bellona, you're first."

Bellona stood up and followed Violet out of the common room. After just a few minutes, she came back and said, "Bonnie, you're up."

Bonnie walked outside and made her way to the room. When she entered, she found a table with ten flags, and a board with room for three of them. She took a deep breath; Bonnie couldn't bring herself to believe that a test… evaluation task… whatever the heck this was would have no direct impact on her future with Garnet.

The best approach, Bonnie thought, was to read each flag first and pick up the ones that jumped out to her. Then, she'd prioritize and organize them.

The first two flags Bonnie was able to rule out were The Districts and The Country. Bonnie wasn't super concerned with the bigger picture; for her, personal successes were more important than national. Those she picked up and put under the table. She also ruled out Your Well-Being and The Capitol, because neither of those seemed super important to her. Now she was left with six flags: Your Passion, Your Friends, Your Family, Your Legacy, Your District, and The Games.

Immediately, Bonnie knew that The Games had to be up there on her list. After all, she'd be spending her whole life training children to bring honor to District Four. That also put Your District on the list; as a trainer, the honor of Four was so crucial. That left her with one spot left on her board. Everything left was important to her. So how could she pick one?

Bonnie figured that Your Passion, at least for her, was included in Your District and The Games. So she threw that one under the table. She also didn't have any very close friends, so that one could be ruled out too. That left her with Your Family and Your Legacy.

Bonnie took a second to look at her flags, then decided to trust her gut. As much as her family was important to her, her legacy as a trainer was so important; the most trusted trainers and the ones to whom people looked up most were those whose legacies were cemented by bringing home tributes from the Games. So the third flag had to be Your Legacy.

Now she just had to decide the order. Bonnie thought about it for a moment, then put Your Legacy on top, followed by Your District and The Games. She surveyed her board one more time, announced, "I've finished!" and left the room.

"Thank you, Bonnie," said Violet, meeting the girl from Four with a strong poker face. "Please send Cayman in, and don't tell any of the other girls anything about what you did or saw." Bonnie obliged, returning to the common room to mull in thought over what she'd chosen to do.

* * *

 _Dania Kesten, 17, District Nine_

* * *

After Cayman left, Dania turned to Danira. "I go next, right?"

"I think so."

Dania was a little bit nervous about what the priority flags could be. Before the Games, there was no doubt as to what they would be: her family, her girlfriend, and her studies. But now, without Kylis, she'd have to totally think them through again. Not to mention that she couldn't write down her priorities for Garnet to read; rather, she had to choose from what the Capitol thought a District girl's priorities might be. And that was dicey.

Dania had been proud of herself for how she'd managed to get over Kylis's death. Her girlfriend's presence would never leave her, and she wasn't entirely sure if she'd be able to love again, but at least she wasn't crying every night like she was after the Games. So that was progress. It was hard for her to fathom that it had been ten days since she learned that Kylis would be gone for good, and last night was the first night that she hadn't cried a little bit before going to sleep.

Her life would never be the same without Kylis. As much as she wanted to believe differently, Dania knew that post-Kylis life would be challenging at best, unlivable at worst. A small part of her wondered if that was because of the sudden way in which Dania was taken from her. It was certainly unlikely that the two would have actually made it to marriage – relationships in Nine between kids of Reaping age rarely lasted much past it – but it would have at least been comforting for Dania to get real closure. (Dania failed to remember that she'd had that opportunity before the interviews, to end their relationship on amicable terms, but that was before the possibility of death became as real as it was.)

"Dania!"

The girl from Nine was shaken out of her thoughts by Danira, who pointed her to the door. Dania walked over to Private Room F, knowing full-well the impact her choices might have.

Instantly, Dania ruled out the flags reading The Games and The Capitol. She obviously couldn't support either thing that took her girlfriend away from her. She also ruled out Your Friends, because Dania didn't really have any significant relationships other than Kylis. And Kylis was more than a friend.

After some more consideration, Dania also ruled out some of the other big picture flags, namely Your District, The Districts, and The Country. For her, she couldn't prioritize larger issues over her personal, smaller ones; that realization led her to pick out the Your Well-Being flag as one of her three.

The only three flags on which she hadn't made a decision were Your Passion, Your Family, and Your Legacy. Dania thought for a moment on which two to include; all three of them were certainly valuable to her. If Kylis had still been alive, Your Family would have definitely made it, as it was the closest to acknowledging the way that Dania really felt about her girlfriend. But without Kylis, she had to think about it a little more deeply.

Eventually, she chose to rule out Your Family. It wasn't that her parents weren't important to her; they did have a generally positive and supportive relationship after all. But, she realized that, if she wasn't even willing to tell her family about Kylis, there was no way that Dania could prioritize them about Your Passion and Your Legacy.

Ordering the flags was easy. Dania put Your Passion first, as without Kylis, nothing drove her more than her desire to study hard enough to get out of Nine. Then came Your Well-Being, and then Your Legacy; after all, if one didn't live a healthy life, both physically and mentally, there was no way to fully secure one's legacy.

As Dania took one last glance at the flags she chose, she knew that the Dania of a month ago wouldn't have put those flags up in that order, maybe not at all in favor of others. But she was a changed girl now.

And maybe the shift in her priorities wasn't totally a bad thing.

* * *

 _Singer Brocade, 17, District Eight_

* * *

It frustrated Singer to no end that they'd chosen to go alphabetically by first name for this task instead of last name.

If they'd gone by last name, which was the logical thing to do because everyone did it, Singer would have gone second, right after Delilah. Instead, she had to go last. She had to wait for thirteen other girls to go before her, none of whom could tell her what they'd done in the room. So she couldn't even plan ahead for her turn; Singer just had to wait and see what would happen. And Singer didn't like waiting without being able to plan.

After what seemed like 87 billion years, it was finally Singer's turn to go into the room. She efficiently scanned the flag, analyzed the options, and quickly made her decision. The three flags would be Your Passion, followed by Your Family (as she wanted to start a family) and then Your Well-Being. Without even a second thought, Singer left the room.

* * *

Violet came into Garnet's room with a stack of papers and a flash drive. "Here you go; a separate paper for each girl with her flags in order."

"Do you have the video footage of each one?"

"On this flash drive right here."

"Excellent. Thank you, Violet."

"Just out of curiosity, why did you want the video footage?"

Garnet paused for a second, not wanting to reveal too much. "I wanted to see how quickly they did what I wanted them to do. And whether or not they had to put thought into it."

* * *

 **So there we have it, another chapter and our first task! What did you think? Who in this chapter do you think did what Garnet wanted, and who didn't? What was the aim of the task? Some of this will become more clear next chapter. (Those who are following IDIDE may have a better idea of this.) Also, did anyone catch my double entendre?**

 **Speaking of IDIDE, keep submitting! I'm beginning to piece together a preliminary tribute list, but all slots are still open.**

 **I know these updates are super infrequent, but thanks for being patient with me in and around my job corralling nine-year-old girls. I'm super excited to bring this story to the endgame; things are going to get crazy from here!**

 **-goldie031**


	56. Selection: Homeward Bound, Part Three

Garnet sat at his desk, ready to send home yet another batch of girls. He straightened his papers, then looked at Violet.

"I'd like to speak to Singer first," Garnet said, "and then I'll see the girls on your list."

"Singer was not sent an audience note, so I don't know what she'll be wearing."

"That's fine. What she's wearing isn't my current concern."

"Will you tell me your elimination criteria?"

"After I handle the eliminations."

Violet nodded, admittedly more disappointed than a 31-year-old should be about something like this. She stepped out of the room for a moment, then came back in with Singer, who looked quite a bit nervous.

"Hey, Singer!" Garnet said, deliberately using a brighter tone than he would when sending someone home. "How are you doing?"

"I'm alright. A bit nervous, but alright."

"That's good. I wanted to talk for a little bit about yesterday's task. Did you know that you made your flag choices faster than any of the other girls?"

"No, I didn't know that."

"Now, I wasn't looking at the speed of the choices made during this task, rather what the choices were, so it would be unfair for me to eliminate you based on your speed. But," Garnet's tone became more serious, "as the President's wife, or any high-ranking member of this country, making such fast decisions without putting thought into them can be extremely dangerous, even deadly. Please keep that in mind as we proceed from here. You may go now, Singer. Thank you!"

As Singer left, she appeared a bit shell-shocked (which, admittedly, was exactly Garnet's aim). Violet came back into the room after a moment and said, "Ready for the hard part?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. It gets more and more difficult each time, both for me and for them."

"Well, here we go."

The first girl escorted into the room by Violet was Delilah Ainsley. She looked like a bundle of all kinds of emotions, from nervous to excited and everything in between.

"Hello, Delilah. How are you?"

"I'm doing OK. What about you, Garnet?"

"Oh, I'm alright. Delilah, I regret to inform you that I have not chosen you to be my wife."

Delilah looked crestfallen. "Well, thank you for the opportunity, Garnet," she said, sounding a bit upset. She stood up, gave a neat little curtsey, and made her way out; Garnet heard the sounds of little sobs as the door closed.

"Maybe be a bit more delicate with the next one?" Violet suggested.

"I can do that with the little ones because they don't have romantic feelings. But I think that, with the older ones, it's a bit like ripping off a bandage. If you do it slowly, it hurts more. And they're not gonna be happy about it either way."

"OK. As long as nobody tries to kill you, I trust your judgement."

"Send in the next one," Garnet insisted, motioning with his hand.

The second girl to enter was Janari Lovarre. She gave Garnet a shy wave as she took her seat across from him.

"How are you doing, Janari?"

"I'm a bit torn. I love being here, but I really miss Carissa. Like, a lot."

"Well, I have to tell you that you'll get to see her very soon. I'm sorry, Janari, but I have not selected you as my wife."

Janari nodded. "I'm not sure whether to be upset or happy," she admitted slowly, "but thank you for everything."

"Of course." And Janari left.

Garnet took a deep breath. "I think I'm most nervous about this one. Send her in."

"Hello, Garnet," said Bellona; of all of the Selection girls, she was one of the most comfortable around him.

"Hi, Bellona. How's it going?"

"I'm OK," she replied. (She didn't tell Garnet that she had a pit in her stomach the size of a peach.)

"Good. I called you in today because I regret to inform you that I have not selected you as my wife. I will, however, make sure to reinforce with your district that you may not volunteer for next year's Games."

"Thank you."

Garnet gave Bellona a little nod, allowing her to stand up and leave; Bellona did so.

"One more to go today."

"Do you think you're gonna start doing smaller elimination groups?" Violet asked.

"It depends on how things go with the next few tasks."

Seeing that she wasn't going to get much more out of her cousin at that point, Violet led the last girl, Bonnie, into the room.

"Hello, Bonnie."

"Hello."

"I regret to inform you that I have not chosen you to be my wife."

Bonnie sighed. It almost seemed to Garnet as thought she was surprised by how upset she was feeling. "Thank you for giving me the chance to get to know you," she said.

"The pleasure was mine." Garnet gave another nod, and Violet escorted Bonnie out.

Garnet took a deep breath. He knew that the eliminations would only get harder from there, but he was hoping they wouldn't be too bad.

"So, now will you tell me why they all went home? Was it because they were all from Career districts?"

"No, but that might be the reason for why I chose to send them home. I did so because they all had the flag reading The Games on their priority board."

"Really? I didn't expect Delilah and Janari to put the Games."

"The influence of one's District is undeniable, especially when the Games are such a part of its culture. If they put the flag on because the Games are important to them, that's not the kind of person I want by my side. If they put the flag on because they've been influenced in that way by their district, or because that's what they thought I'd want, then I sent them home because I don't want someone who can be so easily swayed in favor of something like the Games. I'm sure Mom has told you my plan, and I don't want someone by my side who is going to make that plan harder to achieve."

* * *

By a slim margin, Delilah was the first of the Careers to return home. She was happy that her family was there to receive her with open arms; though she hadn't made the Games, she'd made District One proud as their only Selection girl. Delilah spent a few days just resting at home before trying to figure out what to do with herself now that training wasn't an option.

As it had been before she left, her first priority was saving her brothers, Caleb and Jet. At this stage, she wasn't sure what she could do to save Jet – knowing Garnet's plan, he would still be eligible to volunteer – but she at least had a shot to save Caleb. Just under a week after she came back, Delilah went to Lavender's house and called a man whom she'd met at the Victory Ball. After talking for a while, he assured her that he could help her brother. Delilah worked with the man to bring Caleb to the Capitol; after some time, he returned, somehow finally off of drugs.

Once Caleb recovered, Delilah's life became a waiting game: waiting for her career path to become clear, waiting to see who Garnet would pick, waiting to find out her younger brother's fate. And that waiting game would continue for almost six years.

* * *

Just after the train pulled into One, Janari and Bellona arrived in Two. Both were greeted by their families, and the whole group walked back to Victor's Village together.

When Janari got to their house, Carissa showed her little sister to her room; then, the two stayed up for hours talking about their respective experiences. While neither girl would ever fully understand what the other went through – the Games and the Selection were both stressful in their own ways – it was nice for the two to spend some time bonding after being apart for so long. Janari would also spend some time in the next few days hanging out with her friends Ardi and Sorre, just catching up and being teenagers.

After getting readjusted to life in Two, Janari began to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. She began reading any medical book she could get her hand on, and anxiously waited until the day that she could apply for university and then medical school.

A few doors down, Bellona was sitting with her grandmother, Enobaria, discussing the events of the Selection. "Do you know why Garnet picked you?" Enobaria asked.

"I honestly have no idea. It's not polite to ask those kinds of things, especially because, for most of the girls, Garnet picking them was good."

"Did you want to get picked?"

"I mean, I think everyone would want the honor of being Garnet's wife. One would be a part of the highest-ranking family in Panem; the Emeralds basically have all of the power in the country. I think it would be a bigger honor than being a Victor."

Enobaria sighed. "Bellona, if you didn't want to go into the Games, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I was worried that I was letting you down."

"Did you ever wonder why your mother isn't a Victor?"

"Why?"

"Because she told me that her heart wasn't in it. If there's one thing I've learned from 63 years of mentoring, it's that being true to yourself is the most important thing. And I think you haven't been quite true to yourself. So tell me, what do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I've never really known. Now the Games aren't an option, so I know even less."

"Well, maybe something will surprise you. Just make sure that it feels right if you take it, OK?"

Bellona nodded. She and her grandmother shared a warm embrace before Bellona went back up to her room. Little did she know that an opportunity would present itself shortly, and it would be pretty hard to pass up even if she'd wanted to.

* * *

Bonnie arrived home last, safely and soundly, in Four. Her whole family was quite happy to see her, both because she had saved them from the Games and because she did a lot to care for them. With her twin Karina taking on their mom's profession, and her oldest younger brother Rudy taking on their dad's, she was totally free to pursue training as a career.

It took Bonnie five years to complete the trainer training course. After that, she had to work under another trainer for three years before she could finally train tributes of her own. Having experienced the pre-Games process for herself, but not having the responsibilities of a Victor, made her a phenomenal resource for the Volunteers in the last days and weeks leading up to the Games. She would eventually train a tribute who did come home, which Bonnie would go on to describe as the best moment of her life.

* * *

 **14** **th** **Place: Delilah Ainsley, District One**

 **Delilah was such a sweet tribute with an awesome backstory and all that. I loved writing her, and she could have easily been Garnet's wife had there been different Victors. Her family-oriented attitude was such a welcome difference from most Careers, and I loved getting to bring that to life. Thanks, David, for Delilah; I hope you don't hold this against me!**

 **13** **th** **Place: Janari Lovarre, District Two**

 **As much as this would've been cute, no way Garnet would marry Janari after Carissa won the Games. These two sisters were awesome to bring to life; I loved seeing their relationship grow from when they volunteered to when Janari came home. Janari was such a sweet cinnamon roll of a girl, and I'm sure she'll do great things. Thanks, Lauren, for Janari; hope you stick around until the end!**

 **12** **th** **Place: Bellona Terminus, District Two**

 **Bellona was also a really awesome character to develop. I loved getting to throw a curveball with her during Garnet's interviews, and it was super cool to play around with her character as the story progressed. Thanks, Lord Zagreus, for Bellona; I hope that you stay to see who wins!**

 **11** **th** **Place: Bonnie Clearwater, District Four**

 **Bonnie was also an interesting take on a Career. I really liked the idea of someone training in an Academy for the purpose of training others. She was such a sweet family girl, and I loved getting to bring her relationship with Garnet and with her siblings to life. Thanks, Goldilocks775, for Bonnie, and I hope you stay around here and submit to IDIDE!**

* * *

 **So here's another chapter! I know it's a bit short, but I'm preparing for this section of the story's arc to really start. But anyway, we've made it to our Top Ten. Was anything in this chapter surprising to you? Who do you think is gonna win now?**

 **I'm gonna try to push a few more of these out so I can actually bump up IDIDE. I'm really excited for the next arc of the story; it's gonna be super fun!**

 **Thanks so much for all of your support with this story. I know update time is slow, but I'm hoping it'll pick up soon.**

 **See you next time!**

 **-goldie031**


	57. Selection: The Lay of the Land

_Lennox Silverson-Smith, 16, District Ten_

* * *

Things were finally getting exciting in the Selection house. It had been two weeks since the girls had been whittled down to ten, and nothing had really happened in that time. But now, it seemed like the action was finally picking up again.

See, each girl had received a note that morning inviting her to a one-on-one with Garnet. And it seemed that Lennox's one-on-one was the first.

Lennox slipped on a simple knee-length sundress, gave her hair a bit of a curl, put on some makeup, and then headed out to the common room of her suite. There, she found Singer, who had recently moved into Lennox's suite, dressed in plainclothes. "Are you not going today?" asked Lennox.

"Nope. I'm tomorrow. But good luck today!"

Lennox took another glance in the mirror, then went to Private Room G, which had been informally designated as Garnet's room in the Selection house. She arrived a little bit early, so she waited a few minutes before knocking on the door.

"Hi there, Lennox. How are you?"

"I'm good, Garnet. How are you doing?"

"Well, thank you. Let's go for a walk outside."

Garnet led Lennox over to a little park built close to the Selection house. It was simple: a nice grassy area with some flowers and a few trees to give them shade.

"So tell me, Lennox, how has your time in the Capitol been?"

"It's been quite nice. It's nice to have enough to eat, and I've loved getting to know the other girls."

"Have you been sensing any drama in the Selection house?"

"Not really. Everyone seems to be friendly with everyone else, people seem to like each other, and we're all just really good friends."

"So nobody is more than friends."

"No, no way! We all just like being around each other and we all get along."

Garnet seemed to be caught a bit off-guard. "That's quite nice. I'm glad everyone in the Selection house likes each other."

Lennox and Garnet spent a few more minutes talking to each other, Lennox talking in great detail about her home life and what she liked to do in Ten. While the one-on-one was kind of short, Lennox left her time with Garnet feeling confident that she'd made a positive impression. She just hoped that it had been enough.

* * *

Garnet returned to Private Room G looking a bit confused. The things he'd heard from Lennox weren't matching up with what he'd seen from the small surveillance clips Violet had shown him. Things seemed to be much more tense – and much more intense – in the Selection house than the girl from Ten had perceived. And that concerned him.

"How'd it go, Garnet?"

"I don't know," he replied to his cousin, Violet. "Lennox is a lovely girl, but what she told me about the Selection house didn't line up. It almost seems to me that she can't pick up things that are happening around her at all."

"Is that a reason to send her home, though?" Violet rebutted, attempting to play devil's advocate.

Garnet made a note on one of the papers in his office. "With what I think is happening in the house, not yet."

"Well, you have another one-on-one today with Danira. Maybe you'll get a better sense of what's going on from her."

Garnet nodded. "I have a feeling that you're right.

A little while later came the second expected knock at the door. Garnet left the room, greeted Danira politely, and led her out to the same park to which he'd brought Lennox.

"So, Danira, how have you enjoyed your time in the Capitol?"

"It's been a lot of fun," Danira said. "I've really enjoyed getting to meet girls from other Districts and share our stories and cultures."

"Have you been sensing any drama in the Selection house?"

Danira smiled, almost as though she'd been preparing to take on that question for weeks. "Has there been drama?" she asked rhetorically. "Garnet, the ten of us have been living together for more than three weeks now. Of course there's drama."

"So what can you share with me?"

"Well. I assume you heard about Khara and Phoebe from Lennox?"

"Nope." Garnet had heard about Khara and Phoebe, but not from Lennox.

Danira looked shocked. "Did she know about it?"

"I don't know. If she did, she did a pretty good job hiding it, but it seemed pretty convincing to me that she had no idea what was going on."

"Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if she had no idea what was going on. She's fairly oblivious to most of what happens socially in the house."

"All right, so give me the low-down yourself."

"Well, Khara and Phoebe are a thing. Like a thing thing. It's been two or three weeks, I think, since that happened. To be honest, it was pretty cute; they were both talking to everyone about how they loved each other but neither one told the other. It ended up being Pandora… no, Melvina… well, that's more complicated than one person or the other bringing them together."

 _Back in time…_

* * *

 _Pandora Eurydice Zachery, 16, District Five_

* * *

Pandora was sitting on the sofa in the common room, reading a book on chess strategy. Most people would find that sort of book boring, but it really interested Pandora; when she played chess, she usually made her strategy up based on instinct, and it was cool to see how those ideas lined up with real chess strategies.

"Whatcha reading?" Melvina said, sitting down on the sofa next to Pandora.

"Just a book about chess."

"Interesting," lied Melvina. "Hey, I've got a question for you. What do you know about Khara and Phoebe?"

Pandora looked to the left and to the right, trying to see if anyone who wasn't supposed to know about the relationship was there. "Yeah. I was talking to Khara and she said that she had a crush on Phoebe."

"Interesting. I was also thinking that they'd be cute together. Don't you?"

"Isn't it dangerous to be pairing people together when we're supposed to be competing for Garnet?"

"Maybe. But think about it. That's two people out of our hair. Instead of a one in ten chance at Garnet, we each have a one in eight chance. And we each have something to fight for. I want the love, and I really think Garnet's the one. And wouldn't it be great for your parents to not have to work in their power plant, but for them to be able to pass the work off to other people and retire and reap the profits?"

"I guess so."

"And wouldn't they be so cute together? It would make Khara's life better because Phoebe's dad is a Victor, so she'd be able to provide for her family better as well."

It turned out that Melvina had a way with words; in just a few more minutes, she had Phoebe convinced. "So I'll see what I can do to actually get them to come together and talk. And maybe we can make an adorable couple!"

"That's the idea. Thanks for your help, Pandora!"

"You're welcome, Melvina."

* * *

 _Back to the present…_

"So Melvina managed to convince Pandora to push Khara and Phoebe closer," Garnet said slowly, trying to understand what was going on in the house.

"That's what I'm pretty sure happened. I think she was trying to get Pandora to take the fall for it if Khara and Phoebe turned into something, which kept her safe and in the running for you." Danira added as an off-hand comment, "Melvina really has a way with words."

Garnet nodded. "And did Pandora manage to get Khara and Phoebe together?"

"I think so. I mean, they spend a lot of time together, and they're pretty cute, to be honest. But I think they're reluctant to call themselves a couple because they don't want to get in trouble."

"How did Melvina find out that Pandora knew what was going on?"

Danira turned red. "I… I dunno. Dumb luck, I guess."

"Interesting. Where do the other girls fall into the whole mess?"

"Well. There's the anti-Melvina camp that formed."

Garnet's eyes widened. "An anti-Melvina camp?"

"Yeah, of Cayman and Singer."

"Interesting that they're the two that came together to form that camp."

"Yeah. It makes sense to me that Cayman would be against this whole thing because she's a very morally driven person. I think she has a problem with every aspect of it: she doesn't like that Khara and Phoebe are together and not following the rules of needing to fight for your love, she hates that Melvina managed to manipulate everyone into getting Khara and Phoebe together, and it bothers her that Pandora succumbed to Melvina and actually made everything happen. So she's steadily against the whole thing. I'm not so sure about how Singer got involved; that's something I'd actually love to know."

 _Slightly less far back in time…_

* * *

 _Cayman Rye, 16, District Nine_

* * *

In Cayman's opinion, the whole Khara/Phoebe situation was getting out of hand. And it wasn't Khara or Phoebe's fault. It frustrated Cayman that Melvina had managed to bring them together; morally, that wasn't the proper thing to do. The girls were supposed to be competing for Garnet's love. They should actually be putting in effort to do so!

At that point, Cayman knew that it wasn't going to be feasible for her to actually stop Khara or Phoebe from falling in love with each other. That damage had been done by Melvina a long time ago. Now, she needed to stop Melvina from attempting to draw them closer together; this way, they could still have a shot at not getting in trouble with Garnet. Even if they got sent home and fell in love then, they'd still be alive.

The problem was that, in order to make that happen, Cayman needed a partner in crime of sorts, someone who shared her moral compass. Normally, she would go to Phoebe – after all, the two were allies in the Games because they both valued morals – but in this situation, Phoebe probably wasn't the best person. So Cayman would have to come up with someone else.

Luckily for her, that someone else was moving into the Nine-Ten-Eleven suite.

"Is there a specific room I should take, Cayman?" Singer asked, lugging her suitcase from home through the door.

"Rain and Maddi shared a room, so that extra room over there would probably be your best bet. Want some help unpacking?"

"Sure."

Cayman came into Singer's room and watched as her friend from Eight opened up her suitcase. She was surprised to find that the two topmost items were a pincushion in the shape of a tomato and a stuffed cat made out of scraps. "Tell me about these!"

"The cat was the first thing I ever really sewed by myself. And that's my lucky pincushion. I keep my favorite pins and needles on it. And isn't that strawberry attached cute?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Cayman remarked, attempting to feign enthusiasm. "Anyway, I have a question for you. How do you feel about what's going down with Melvina?"

"What do you mean?" Singer began putting large, folded up pieces of muslin on a shelf.

"I mean, how she's trying to bring Phoebe closer to Khara and is even getting Pandora in on the mess."

"I guess it's a bit annoying. But it's not really our business to butt in. We should be focusing on ourselves and furthering our own desires and careers."

"But couldn't you say the same about Melvina? How it's not fair that she's intruding on Khara, Phoebe, and Pandora's attempts at success? Because of her actions, three girls could lose out on their chances at Garnet, if they wanted to be with him."

Singer took out her supplies for tatting doilies and put them on another shelf. "I suppose so."

"It goes against the whole moral compass of the Selection if we let what she's doing continue. We have to put a stop to it!" Cayman proclaimed dramatically.

"OK," Singer said calmly, unpacking the last of her suitcase.

"Great. I can't wait to see what we can accomplish!

* * *

 _Back to the present…_

"There's also the minor detail that Singer was in Khara's alliance and that Cayman's only ally was Phoebe," Danira muttered.

"Do you think there's romantic tension there?"

"Singer doesn't believe that a family should be anything other than a mom, a dad, and kids. So whether or not she actually loves Khara, she wouldn't ever date her. And Cayman is straighter than a stick."

"Well, it was worth the question. What about Lennox, Dania, and Elizah? Where do they fit into this whole mess?"

"Well, if Lennox couldn't even see that Khara and Phoebe are together, I… anyway, she probably can't tell anything that's going on beyond that. Elizah wasn't super public about why she decided not to get involved; I think that she just doesn't see a need to get involved in all the drama. It just doesn't make sense to her. And the whole idea of love is tough for Dania right now, so I think that getting involved in the Khara/Phoebe situation would make her feel worse."

"And you?"

Danira shrugged. "I like knowing everything that's going on. That's all I have to say."

"Well, this was quite enlightening," Garnet remarked. He then deftly changed the subject and began talking to Danira about her work as a mechanic, a topic on which they stayed for ten or so minutes. Finally, he thanked the girl from Six politely and led her back to the Selection house; Danira returned to her suite while Garnet returned to Private Room G. He sighed a deep sigh, then began writing furiously on his notepaper.

"Well, that one-on-one was longer," Violet said to break the silence. "Does that mean more successful?"

"Danira kind of reminds me of a dam," Garnet replied. "Once you get her started with giving information, the floodgates open and she doesn't stop."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"I don't know. She gave me all of the information I wanted to know, but I basically had to turn into a gossipy teenage girl to get it. Plus, I don't think it's a good idea for someone this high up to be this willing to volunteer information."

"Danira is sixteen. She has a lot to learn! Plus, haven't you told me that you basically already know who you want to pick?"

"Yeah," Garnet smiled, more dreamily than Violet had ever seen him smile before.

"And did what Danira said confirm that she was someone you'd want to pick?"

Garnet thought for a moment, running through his whole conversation with the girl from Six. "Actually, yes. It definitely confirmed my choice."

"So the one-on-one was successful. Now you've answered my question.

* * *

 **So things seem to be picking up in the Selection house! We've got a lot of drama happening, and people solidly forming into camps. What did you think of the format of this chapter? I decided to experiment with jumping around in time – did it work? What of Danira's information surprised you the most? Did it give you any hints as to who Garnet is going to pick? How will Garnet handle Khara/Phoebe?**

 **I'm hoping to have the story finished in ten or so chapters. Within the next three or four chapters, we'll know what the progression of the Games is, AKA what I've been holding out from you for basically the whole story. Any last minute guesses?**

 **I'm so excited to get this story finished and move on to IDIDE. Thank you all so much for all of your continued support!**

 **-goldie031**


	58. Selection: The Press Conference

_Khara Imperium, 15, District Five_

* * *

It had been a very long time since Khara was this happy.

Did it go against the rules? Well, maybe. There was never a clear ruling from Garnet or Violet about falling in love with other contestants. But, to a certain degree, Khara felt that it was natural. When all of the girls in one house were trying to fall in love, one's romantic urges could easily lead one to someone else. And that was exactly what happened.

On the other hand, Khara was certainly a bit nervous about what might happen should Garnet find out. Though she didn't love him the way she loved Phoebe – not even close – she certainly didn't want to disappoint him, and she felt that a relationship going on behind his back could be a disappointment.

Khara was even a little hesitant to say that she _loved_ Phoebe. The two girls had a very positive relationship, and were, to a certain degree, romantically involved, but for Khara, using the word love in this context felt a little awkward. She'd never been opposed to same-sex or same-gender relationships, but for Khara, they'd always felt far away; she had always thought she was straight, not some degree of not straight. Who would have guessed that, in the race to love one boy, Khara would learn that she didn't need boys to find love?

"Hey there," said Phoebe, coming into the common room of the Three-Five-Six suite. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing OK. You?"

Phoebe moved her head from side to side. "I'm just… I'm struggling with the moral side of keeping our relationship a secret."

"I have too," admitted Khara.

"It just doesn't feel right to be hiding something this big from Garnet, you know?"

"But I'm also worried about potential repercussions from telling him. I mean, there's no rule against falling in love, but…"

"I still think it's best if we go to him."

Khara shrugged.

"Well," Phoebe said, "we might not have a choice." She pulled an envelope out from behind her back. "I have a meeting with him today. Do you?"

"I don't know. Let me check." Khara got up and went into her room, where she found an identical envelope to Phoebe's. "Seems as though we have the same time for our meeting, too."

"That can't be good."

Later that morning, Khara and Phoebe, dressed in appropriate dresses for early September, met each other at Private Room G. They gave each other a look, took a deep breath, and then Khara knocked on the door. After a moment, Garnet opened it and let the girls in.

"Hi, ladies! How are you doing today?" Garnet began brightly. Khara was relieved to find that he seemed calm and, more importantly, not mad.

"I'm doing OK," replied Khara nervously. "Phoebe?"

"Yeah. Well!"

"Excellent." Garnet's tone became a bit more serious. "I wanted to call in the two of you to talk about something that may seem a bit awkward, but is important for me to understand as I'm in the process of choosing a wife. I urge you to be honest with me, because my decision as a result of this meeting may have a more negative impact on the two of you than either of you want. OK?"

The girls nodded. Khara knew exactly where the meeting was going, but elected to allow Garnet to lead it there.

"So… so I guess I just want to hear from you where your relationship is right now. Do you two feel like you are in a relationship that is more than just friends."

Khara and Phoebe smiled awkwardly at each other. "I would… I would say so," Khara began. "We definitely felt… a strong connection as district partners from the beginning. Then, after the Victory ball, we got a lot closer. Like, a lot closer. It was maybe the next week when we realized that we could be compatible as a couple."

"It's not like we're really dating yet," explained Phoebe. "We're a bit reluctant to call ourselves a couple because of the whole Selection thing."

"Would you both be ready to call yourselves a couple if it weren't for the Selection?"

Khara and Phoebe both nodded, then looked at each other. "I think we both would," Khara said for both of them.

Garnet smiled. "I think," he smiled, "that it would be unfair of me to keep you here competing for my love if what you really want is to be together. Therefore, I'm going to offer you both the opportunity to return home to District Five. Is that something you would like?"

Phoebe and Khara looked at each other again and smiled. "We'd really enjoy that," Phoebe smiled. "Thank you so much!"

"Excellent. For formality's sake, I have to tell you each that I have not chosen you as my wife. I'll ask that you pack up quietly, and leave without saying goodbye to the other Selection girls. I wish you two a very happy and long future together."

"Thank you," chorused the girls from Five. They talked a little bit more with Garnet, and received some specific and unusual instructions, then they both shook hands with Garnet and left the room, all involved parties still on good terms.

When they got back to their suite, Khara gave Phoebe a giant hug. "That could have gone so much worse!" she exclaimed.

"Completely right. Let's go pack to go home!"

Suddenly, the two girls froze, as if they were possessed. Khara went up to Phoebe, carefully took the smaller girl's head in her hands, and gave her a passionate kiss, their first kiss as a couple.

* * *

Per the Capitol's instructions, Khara and Phoebe were very vague about their reasoning for being sent home. When they got off the train in Five, the two basically ignored any questions from their friends regarding their relationship with Garnet. It was difficult at first, but eventually their friends understood that the Selection was a period of their life that they wouldn't be talking about all that much.

After about two weeks of being home, Khara and Phoebe were finally allowed to begin dating. The story they'd been instructed to use was that they'd been very close friends in the Selection house, and only upon leaving did they realize that their friendship was something more. Garnet had explained to them that these precautions were less for the purpose of the Capitol and saving face and more for a later Selection challenge. That didn't quite make sense to either girl, but they decided that it was better to listen to the Capitol, because things could have ended much, much worse for them.

Once they began dating, the relationship between Khara and Phoebe quickly escalated. The nearly three-and-a-half-year age difference between them didn't seem to matter; something about their relationship superseded any difference in their years. It took a little bit for them to get back into the swing of their relationship, but once they did, it progressed very quickly. It was only at the urging of Khara's parents that the girls decided to wait until Khara was eighteen to get married.

* * *

"So you let Garnet decide when to announce this, huh?" Amethyst asked Ruby. The two women were standing in front of the mirror in their dressing room, putting the finishing touches on their outfits and makeup for that evening's press conference.

"Yeah. I originally wanted to announce it when Lavender and Carissa joined us here in the Capitol for the Victory Tour. But, to be honest, I liked Garnet's reasoning for this one, and if it helps him get a wife, I'm OK with it. I don't think that the timing of the announcement will matter all that much."

"That's fair."

The two fell silent.

"Are you nervous about this?"

"There's one part that I'm nervous about, but I think that, in general, it's going to be good. It just…"

"I know." Amethyst awkwardly attempted to comfort her sister by rubbing her back.

"But, at least we have a distraction built in," Ruby brightened. "That was also really intelligent of Garnet."

"There's a distraction at play?"

"Yeah. What the media doesn't know is that this presser is actually also a Selection challenge. We've planted a reporter in the crowd who is going to ask a question about the relationship between Khara and Phoebe."

"They were dating?!" exclaimed Amethyst.

"Not formally," Ruby explained. "Their relationship was budding but the two hadn't actually started dating yet. They've been instructed not to start dating for another week or so, so the reporter is going to ask if the Selection girls (who will be present at and involved in the presser) what they've perceived about the relationships between the other girls in the Selection house. Violet right now is instructing the girls that, despite the fact that they basically all know that Khara and Phoebe are in a relationship, not to mention it in any way or to give hints one way or the other. Not only that, but they don't that Khara and Phoebe were sent home; all they know is that they won't be at the presser, but technically they're still a relationship in the Selection house as far as the ladies are concerned. The whole thing is a test in how to handle confidential information."

"That's brilliant."

"And as soon as the Capitol gets wind of a relationship between Selection girls, they'll go nuts. It might be bigger news for them and more interesting to them than the other bomb we're dropping beforehand."

"Well, we'll see how it goes. We have called in extra security on our end tonight, both for the presser and back at our houses."

Suddenly, they heard a knock at the door. "Come in!" called Ruby.

Portia Andeers cracked the door open. "We're live in five, Ruby."

"Let's do this, Amethyst. Good luck."

"You too."

The two women followed Portia to the stage, where they found a dais set up. Ruby's seat was just to the left of the podium, Garnet's to her left, then Amethyst's on the other side of his. On the podium's right, the Selection girls sat, in district order, wearing black pencil skirts, white blouses, and blazers in their district colors. A curtain in front of the stage separated the dais from the audience, giving those on the dais privacy and time to prepare themselves. Stylists were rushing around, putting finishing touches on their charges' makeup and hair and ensuring that everyone was ready for the important occasion. Ruby decided to take the opportunity to have another conversation with the Selection ladies.

"Hi everyone! How are you all feeling today?"

"Good," chorused the girls.

"Is anyone feeling nervous about the press conference?" A few girls raised their hands. "I can totally understand that. It can be a bit intimidating to be in front of so many people, but just think about it like your Press Day; you're only interacting with one member of the media at a time, really. Plus, Garnet will be there to field and censor the questions. I have full faith in all of you. Good luck!" Ruby returned to her seats.

After a few minutes, at Portia's cue, the stylists disappeared and Amethyst took her position at the podium to introduce the president. The stage managers made a flurry of hand motions, and at some sort of cue, the curtain rose, beginning a broadcast to all of Panem. Amethyst began.

"Good evening, and welcome. We understand that we have been vague about the reasoning for this press conference; all will be revealed in time. I am pleased to call up the President of Panem, Ruby Emerald."

The assembled press gave an obligatory smattering of applause. Amethyst shook Ruby's hand, then took her seat, giving Ruby the spotlight.

"Good evening. I am here to discuss a very important subject to our national culture. That, of course, is the Hunger Games. After a serious series of discussions here in the Capitol, we are going to be instituting some major changes to the Games. We believe that the Hunger Games have lost some of their original intentions, becoming more of a form of entertainment than a punitive measure. In making the changes we are about to announce, however, we took into consideration the cultural aspects of the Games and the way they are such a huge part of the lives of certain districts in Panem.

"From this moment forward, the only people eligible for Reaping will be those children, ages 12-18, under the Reaping Statutes. This applies to children in every district and the Capitol." The crowd gasped; angry chatter began to fill the room. Ruby held her hand up and waited for silence to continue.

"To be put under the Reaping Statute, either that child must have committed a crime, or that child's biological parent must have committed a crime. If a child is put under a Statute for their own crime, it will not put their siblings under that Statute. The Statutes for crimes of different severity will be of different lengths; for example, the crime of vandalism is a one-year Statute, while treason will not have a limit on its Reaping Statute. Each district will be assigned a Statutes Supervisor whose job is to assign Statutes based on a Statutes Guide; one Supervisor will be chosen from each district and reassigned to another district. The decisions of how the Supervisors are assigned will be done by the Games Fairness Council. Those who have already been exempt from the Reaping due to the Selection will remain exempt even if they would be put under the Statute; however, other punishments may be doled out instead.

"A Reaping Statute starts when the first child involved makes it to Reaping age. Therefore, a Statute assigned before someone gets married may not kick into action for a while. Additionally, if someone is assigned to multiple Statutes, they will be combined into one larger Statute; two two-year Statutes will become one four-year Statute.

"A Statute expires under two conditions. The first is when the time of the Statute expires. So if a child is put under a two-year Statute, and two years pass, that child is not eligible for Reaping, unless another Statute is assigned to them. The second is if a child under a specific statute is Reaped; in that circumstance, the Reaping Statute will be expired for any other children under it. For example, if a woman with six children commits murder, and she is placed on a ten-year statute, and then her daughter is Reaped five years in, that woman's five other children are no longer under that statute. Additionally, if all of one's children age out of the Reaping, the Statute automatically expires.

"However, any child between the ages of twelve and eighteen may volunteer for the Hunger Games, regardless of whether they are under the Statute or not. The protocol for volunteering does not change with the new Reaping Statutes, however, the children of Gamemakers, the President, and the people on the Games Fairness Council may not volunteer to prevent bias.

"We recognize that some people in the past have viewed the Games as 'a way out;' as such, we will be opening training academies in every district. The training in these Academies will include weapons training, but will also include survival skills and other life skills.

"One other change that doesn't have as much of an effect on the Games themselves is that we will be doubling the size of the Games Fairness Council to have two people from each district, and expanding its responsibility during the Games themselves to ensure that the Gamemakers don't favor tributes from their district. Additionally, we will be expanding opportunities for inter-District travel for those in the districts who are not under Reaping Statutes, and we will be establishing programs for teens and young adults from the Districts to move to the Capitol and begin training to become Gamemakers.

"I will take any questions at this time."

"Are you sure it is a good idea for Capitol children to be eligible?" asked a reporter from HGHQ.

"It was the decision that we feel is the best. Next."

"What if a district, or the Capitol, has no children of a certain gender eligible for the Reaping?"

"No children of that gender will be Reaped, though someone still may volunteer once the escort has declared that there is no female eligible under the Statutes. Any other questions?" Nobody answered. Ruby assumed that they were simply processing the news Ruby had given them.

"Two last things. First of all, we will be keeping the change that we made for the 125th Games in that we will be having two Victors. And secondly, a district that produces a Victor will not be required to send in a tribute of that gender the next year; however, someone from that district may still volunteer." Suddenly, Ruby brightened her tone; she was now, after all, discussing a decidedly happier topic. "We will now move to the second phase of this press conference. At this time, I will be passing the microphone to my son, Garnet, as I am sure that many of you have questions regarding his time choosing a wife. During this time, you may ask questions to Garnet or, if you'd like, to the eight lovely ladies sitting to my right. Thank you for your time tonight."

The audience applauded again as mother and son switched places. Garnet began with a little speech, then fielded a number of questions deftly before giving the code word for the Selection challenge to begin.

"Yes, sir?"

"I'd love for the girls to tell me about the relationships they've perceived between the other girls in the house," suggested the planted reporter.

"Why don't we start with Pandora right here and move down the line," suggested Garnet.

Pandora nodded brightly. "Sure! From my perspective, everyone has been getting along really well. We're all from different backgrounds, obviously, but it's nice to make friends with everyone."

"From my perspective," Danira said, "there's been a bit more tension, especially because of a certain unique and deeper relationship in the house."

Next came Elizah. "I think relationships are really layered things," Elizah replied diplomatically. "Though I might have an opinion on how other people perceive each other, those in the relationship may believe something else. So while I perceive that everyone has a similar, positive relationship with everyone else, that may not actually be the case."

"I think that concerning oneself with other people's relationships is pointless," admitted Singer. "It's more important to focus on personal and career growth and one's own relationships."

The Nine girls were seated alphabetically by first name, so Cayman went first. "Things can definitely be a bit tense with so many girls so close to each other. I think that, when people try to change others' relationships, even if they are on a natural course for change, it's just not fair to anyone involved."

Dania responded, "There… there's no one special relationship in the house."

"It wouldn't be surprising to me if there was a relationship in the house that wasn't just a friendship," Melvina smiled a bit evilly.

"I just think it's all sunshine and rainbows," Lennox smiled obliviously.

"Does that answer your question?" Garnet asked.

"Yes," the reporter concluded as he was taking furious notes. "Thank you.

* * *

Later that night, Ruby knocked on the door of Garnet's room. "Come in," called Garnet.

"How'd you think the presser went?" Ruby asked as she came in.

"Fairly well," said Garnet. "The girls that I expected to spill, spilled and the ones I expected not to, stayed quiet. Basically, every time I talk to the girls and every time I interact with them, it solidifies my decision."

"So why don't you just make it?"

"I feel like it's not fair to the girls if I don't have a reason for what I'm doing," Garnet explained. "Like, just sending someone home because I don't like them feels unfair to me."

"But isn't the goal of the Selection to find someone you love?"

"Yes."

"And have you done that?"

Garnet smiled dreamily. "I think I have."

"So at this point, not just picking someone is simply making this whole thing harder for you. I get where you're coming from morally, but at this point, Garnet, you should just make your choice."

Garnet nodded. "I think you're right, Mom." He thought about it for a second. "I think I'm going to check in with her first, then send home everyone else. But can we wait to make a formal announcement to the country for a few weeks so we can adjust to everything?"

"Sure. How about on September 25th?"

"Didn't you already suggest that to me once?"

"Yes."

"Then that sounds good."

The two fell silent. Ruby looked at her son, who really wasn't her baby anymore. "You know, I'm so proud of everything you've accomplished, Garnet. I trust that whatever choice you made is the right one, and I'm so glad to welcome another daughter into our family. You've grown up so well."

"I love you too, Mommy." The two shared a warm embrace.

The next morning, Garnet proposed. And she said yes.

* * *

 **10** **th** **Place: Khara Imperium, District Five**

 **9** **th** **Place: Phoebe Nightingale, District Five**

 **After I'd picked the Selection girls, I began to look for an arc that could encompass the second half of this story. It seemed natural to me that, with so many girls in the same room, there would be some sort of relationship, and Khara and Phoebe were a perfect fit, primarily because the only other girl who wasn't straight was Dania. I loved getting to bring these two girls together in the story; they were really a perfect fit for each other! Thanks to AmericanPi for Phoebe and to misfit-right-in for Khara, and I hope y'all stick around for the end!**

* * *

 **Well, we've made it! We now know what the plan is for the future of the Games! What do you think? Does it make sense? Does any aspect of it surprise you? Do you all have any questions or are there any aspects of it that don't make sense?**

 **We're also so close to finding out who Garnet picked! All will be revealed next chapter! I can't thank you enough for sticking with me for this long; I know it's been a long haul getting here time wise but we're so close to done! Are there any last predictions for who you think it is?**

 **I can't thank you enough for your support through this story. I've loved bringing these characters to life, and I'm so excited for where this universe is going to go!**

 **Yours,**

 **Goldie031**


	59. Selection: The Reveal

**Quick shameless plug before I begin: I have a new SYOT up called The First Inter-District Inter-Disciplinary Events! Check it out on my profile!**

* * *

 _Rain Peterson, 14, District Eleven_

* * *

"Now, I want you to stay with me tonight, Maddi," Rain insisted as the two were escorted to their seats. "I know you're a big girl, but tonight is a bit of a crazy night and I don't want you to get lost at the reception."

"It's just so exciting to be back in the Capitol!"

"I know. But we didn't really go out while we were here. And I think there are going to be a lot of people tonight. I'm just glad we're in box seats and not down there with the masses."

All of the Selection girls who had been eliminated had been invited back to the Capitol for the night's festivities surrounding the announcement of Garnet's choice. The girls couldn't exactly say no, so early that morning, they'd been picked up in Eleven by hovercraft and brought to the Capitol. There, their stylists had done some touch-up work before getting them into hair and makeup for the exciting night. The girls had been brought in and made up by district, so it wouldn't be until they got into the box that they'd reunite with everyone else.

When they finally arrived at the box, they found that it wouldn't only be the Selection ladies in the box; Carissa and Lavender would also be joining them. There were already a few girls milling around; Honey was catching up with Phoebe and Khara, while Euodia and Bellona were chatting about something that seemed very important. Maddi and Rain naturally gravitated towards Erin; while they weren't the closest during the Games, both girls from Eleven felt more comfortable talking to Erin than to the older girls. But Erin never really clicked with the other girls in the Littles alliance, so Rain and Maddie were thrilled when their friends from Twelve joined them in the box.

"How are you?" asked Brietta, giving Rain a little embrace.

"I'm doing well. How are you?"

"I'm great! My mom took Brooklyn in, so now we're sisters. So that's been great!"

"Oh, that's so nice of her! I'm still having a bit of trouble with my mom, but things are getting better."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

The two fell silent for a moment.

"Who do you think Garnet will pick tonight?" asked Brietta, deftly changing the subject.

"I don't know. To be honest, I haven't been paying a ton of attention to who's still in," replied Rain. "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure either. It's hard to tell when we haven't been in the house for so long. I feel like we don't quite know what the vibe is, ya know?"

"I feel that."

After a few more minutes of small talk, it was time for the events of the night to start. The girls in the box were instructed to take their seats; Rain was glad to find that she was seated next to Maddi and that both were in the front row. Rain didn't completely understand her sister's excitement about what was happening – she didn't have nearly the same personal investment in Garnet's wife – but she figured that if it made Maddi happy, and it wasn't dangerous, there was nothing wrong with being interested in it.

"Good evening Panem!" exclaimed Harli, acting as announcer for the evening. "I am thrilled to welcome you to tonight's exciting event. We are here to find out who Garnet Emerald has selected to be his wife!" The assembled Capitolites cheered wildly, while the girls in the Selection Box gave polite applause. "Before we begin, a quick thank you to everyone who has helped to organize the Selection events, especially this broadcast and tonight's festivities.

"Of course, we're all here tonight to finally learn the identity of Garnet's wife! Rumor has it that Garnet informally proposed to his soon-to-be wife nearly three weeks ago! Of course, there's no way to confirm that. This morning, Garnet sat down with the contestants who placed eighth through second, and formally proposed to his bride-to-be. And we are about to reveal the identity of our first place finisher right here, right now! Before we find out who Garnet has chosen, however, let's watch this video to see how we've gotten to this point."

Rain tried to pay attention to the video. She really did. But there was something about the whole elongated romance process that made her uncomfortable. All of the older girls, from what she'd gathered, had been the (almost exclusive) focus of Capitol tabloids in the month and a half or so since the end of the Games. That just wasn't Rain's thing. Yes, the Capitol was more comfortable of a place than Eleven, but Rain was glad that she'd been eliminated during the Games; that meant that she'd been sent home out of the spotlight that was focused on the Arena, which had kept her out of the tabloids.

The video seemed to drag on for ages. It was almost as if they were showing and milking every clip of Garnet with any of the Selection girls. (They were.) Finally, it finished with a dramatic narrative discussing the pros and cons of each of the eight remaining options. "Garnet has been spending much of his time one-on-one with each of the ladies, and we trust that he has made the right decision."

The lights came up. The crowd was buzzing with excitement. Rain was just ready for the whole thing to be over. But, because it was the Capitol, Harli _had_ to bring out the _entire Emerald clan_ : all four Emerald siblings and all of their kids. And then she interviewed every single one of them, ending (of course) with the President. It was almost as if Harli's goal was to keep Maddi out later past her bedtime, and to drag things out longer than they had to.

But then, finally, the interviews were over and it was time to reveal. "Dramatic lighting, please," commanded Harli. Almost every light on stage was cut out except for one spotlight on Harli and one on a specific spot on the floor. Rain figured they'd be using the standard "launch from under the stage" method that the Capitol loved so much. Whoever came up with it must have had a flair for the dramatic, something that whoever organized tonight's events certainly shared.

"Exactly two months ago today, the name of this girl was drawn from a bowl in her home district. Now, she is on track to become the wife of one of the most powerful people in our country. I have on good authority that these two are certainly in love, and are thrilled to be together and leading the country. Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present to you for the first time…"

The stage opened up, making room for a plate big enough for two people. Spotlights flashed on and off, dramatic music played, and Rain ascertained that basically the whole goal was to blow one's head off. Finally, she caught a glimpse of the girl's red-orangey hair, neatly curled and swept to her left side, and her gorgeous emerald-green mermaid dress.

"The future Garnet and Elizah Emerald!"

* * *

 _Earlier that morning…_

"So there's no going back from here, right, Garnet?"

"Don't make me any more nervous than I already am, Violet," Garnet insisted.

"Is it that you're not confident in your decision?" she teased.

"No. She's already told me yes, after all."

"So what's making you nervous?"

"The gravity of the decision," explained Garnet. "This is the kind of thing that affects you for your whole life, more so than any other choice I've ever made."

"It's gonna be fine. She loves you, she's said yes, you're in good shape. Now, are you gonna tell me who it is? I didn't even see the invitations for audience this time around!"

"You can be in the room up until we get to the second-place person. Then you have to leave. And both of my last two are legit options, so don't pull that card either."

"Fine."

"Just make sure that there's extra security today. I'm a bit nervous."

"Will do." With that, Violet left the room to escort in the first of the day's eliminees.

Though they were all being sent home on the same day, Garnet had elected not to go by age; instead, he'd placed the remaining eight contestants into placement based on when he would have eliminated them had it been more gradual. Unsurprisingly, the first girl to enter, and therefore the eighth-place finisher, was Melvina Crusoe from District Nine.

"So, Melvina," Garnet said sternly. "As you know, today is the day that I will be selecting my wife. I have to tell you that, at the beginning of this process, you were a legitimate contender. Even as I gravitated towards the woman who I will be marrying, I considered placing you higher than this. But, it became difficult for me to do so when I learned of the efforts made not only to bring Khara and Phoebe closer together as a couple, but to have Pandora take the fall for it."

Melvina feigned shock. "Where did you hear about all of that? How can you prove it's true? I didn't do anything of the sort!"

Garnet continued. "You are correct. I can't prove that. But, I can prove what happened at the press conference, in which you insinuated to the existence of the relationship between the two girls from Five. Handling confidential information in a careful way is a key aspect of being the wife of a politician, which I am. So for that reason, I have not selected you to be my wife."

"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! I DEMAND A RECOUNT OR A SECOND CHANCE. I AM PERFECT FOR YOU AND YOU JUST DON'T SEE IT!"

"Please return to your sequester room now, Melvina," Garnet said calmly. "Otherwise, someone will escort you there."

Melvina continued screaming at Garnet; the President's son kept his cool and indicated for the security guard to lead her out. Finally, the door shut behind her.

"That looked like a tough one," Violet remarked.

"But I think it'll be the toughest today. The next girl should be here from her sequester room momentarily."

"Why did you keep them sequestered?"

"So that they don't spoil for each other who got picked. That wouldn't make tonight very fun. The final eight will be sequestered today through the reception."

"I don't see a point for that, but that's fine."

Violet stepped out of the room, and moments later returned with Danira. She seemed to have an idea of what was going on, and also seemed to be taking it fairly well.

"How's it going, Garnet?" she began brightly.

"Well, Danira, thank you. And you?"

"I'm OK."

Through his exchange with Danira, Garnet made it a priority to keep his tone as soft and caring as possible. "Very good. I'm sure you have an idea of what's going on here. Before I begin, I want to say that I think you're a lovely, vivacious girl with a very bright future. The thing is, you're vivacious and garrulous. Do you know what garrulous means?"

"No."

"It means very, very talkative. Now, talkativeness is wonderful, and I don't discourage it; in fact, I'd encourage you to continue with it, because it makes you so easy to get to know. However, in the wife of someone as high-up as I am in government, being talkative can be dangerous. I gathered from our first one-on-one how willing you are to release information, and at the press conference, you insinuated most directly to the relationship between Khara and Phoebe, which you were instructed not to do. While I'd genuinely love to spend more time with you as a friend, unfortunately, I have not selected you as my wife."

"Thank you for the opportunity, Garnet."

"And thank you, Danira. I'm sure you're excited to return to your grandmother and your father. You have, I'm sure, a great career as a mechanic ahead of you."

"I do hope so."

The next girl to enter did so confidently, with a feeling that she knew what would happen when she arrived. Cayman took her seat across from Garnet, having steeled her nerves for what was to come.

"Just say it, Garnet," Cayman insisted. "I know what's coming."

"Of course, Cayman. I have not selected you as my wife."

"Thank you." Of her own accord, Cayman got up and left.

"That was fast," Violet said, coming back in. "You good?"

"Yeah. I did want to chat with her a bit but I'm fine with that. All right, next up."

The next girl to enter was Singer Brocade. She was dressed, as she always was, quite professionally, almost as though she was in the middle of a day of job interviews. Singer also had the professional courtesy to allow Garnet to address her first.

"So, Singer," Garnet said, "I have to say that I, more than anything, appreciate how driven you are. You have a very bright future ahead of you, because you will get to whatever you set your mind to. But, being driven in that way doesn't mean that you can't care for others, and it also doesn't mean that you have to make split second decisions on everything. Putting thought into your actions and how they affect others is a crucial skill when one is so high up in government, and that is why I have not selected you as my wife at this time. I encourage you to work on these skills, because they, like your driven nature, will take you far in life. Thank you, Singer."

"Thank you, Garnet," she replied, in a very business-like manner. She got up, gave him a firm handshake, and left the room, as professionally as she came in.

Next into the room came Lennox, who, as usual, looked totally oblivious to anything that was going on. Her trademark bubbly smile was still on her face, looking just as happy and totally out of it as ever.

"Hi, Garnet! Are we having another one-on-one?"

"Well… not exactly, Lennox." Garnet knew this was going to be a tough one. "I have some tough news to share with you. I have not, unfortunately, selected you as my wife."

Lennox's face fell, and her bottom lip began to quiver. "But… but why? What did I do wrong?"

Garnet's tone became the softest it'd been in the entire Selection process. "You did nothing wrong, Lennox," he lied. "It's just… sometimes it's hard to explain feelings. And I just don't feel love with you. You wouldn't want to spend your whole life with someone that you don't love, would you?"

"But… BUT I DO LOVE YOU!" sobbed Lennox. "I would be (sob) with someone I liked (sob) and (sob sob sob sob sob) WAAAAA!"

"Violet, please," begged Garnet. His older cousin helped Lennox stand up and led the girl from Ten back to her sequester room. After a little while she came back.

"So, Garnet, why did you eliminate her?"

"She's oblivious to everything around her. Lennox didn't even know that the Khara/Phoebe relationship was a thing."

"Even I knew that was a thing before that round of one-on-ones."

"Bingo." Garnet took a deep breath. "All right. Two more to go, and then…"

"And then you gotta get ready for tonight. We're filming the formal proposal in forty-five minutes, and then it's prep time for the big event tonight. You're graduating from suit to tuxedo tonight!"

"Whoop. Dee. Do."

"I'll send in the next girl."

When Dania Kesten entered the room, she seemed to be a mix of nervous and relieved. "Hi Garnet."

"Hello, Dania. I've called you in today because, as you may have guessed, I have not selected you as my wife. I think you're a lovely girl, really, and I'm sure that you'll be able to accomplish many great things, especially once you're able to get in a university of some sort because I'm sure you will. I just… would it be accurate to say that your heart was never really in it?"

"That's right, I think," Dania replied quietly. "I got over her death, but she's still got this, and probably will for a long time."

"Are you ready to go home?"

"Very much so. But thank you for this time, Garnet."

"You're very welcome. And when you apply to universities next year, you have my recommendation. I mean that seriously."

"Thank you very much." Dania swept out gracefully.

Violet escorted Dania out of the room, then came back in expectantly, a begging smile on her face. "Can I stay?"

"No. But you can get Portia Andeers for me. She's also filming the proposal for me, so she's gonna be the only one to know. Along with the cameraman, of course, unless she does the camera operation. Go!"

"Fine." Violet left the room, slamming the door on the way out.

A few moments later, Portia Andeers came in. "So what does Violet normally do for these things?" she asked, looking a bit uncomfortable in her current surroundings.

"Stand there and supervise," explained Garnet. "Once I finish with the second-place girl we'll go to the proposal site to shoot."

"Cool."

A few minutes later, Pandora Zachery came in to the room. She certainly seemed to know what was going on, but didn't let it on, totally fine with letting Garnet break the news that she fully expected.

"Pandora. You've been such a joy to have around here. And trust me when I say that I don't blame you for anything that happened between you and Khara and Phoebe; that was just something you kind of got thrown into by your position of being their district partner, and because of another girl who is very talented with her words. However. This competition, unfortunately, is one based on very subjective things, namely feelings. And I… I, unfortunately, just don't feel it with you."

"I understand. This must be kind of hard on you."

"It is. But, actually, the process is really done now. And I hope that you enjoyed being a part of it in some way."

"Yes, I have, in a weird way. Thank you."

"Thank you, Pandora. Portia will escort you back to your room now."

Portia looked surprised, but quickly regained her composure. She gracefully led Pandora back to her sequester room, then returned. "That wasn't in my job description!"

By this point, Garnet had managed to change into his trademark suit, bowtie, and cummerbund. "Yeah, I needed to change. Come on! I have a fiancé to propose to.

"You mean a fiancée."

"Whatever."

* * *

 _Later that day…_

"So, Elizah is going to come down this path," Portia instructed, "and then she'll meet you here in this gorgeous grove of trees. You'll get down and propose, and it'll be sweet. Hopefully, one take, bing bang boom."

"Do we have the ring that we picked out?" Garnet asked.

Portia sighed. "Well, you see. We do have that ring. But we also have this ring that your mother, she of the symbolic nature, would like you to use. And guess what stone is in the middle."

"A garnet?"

"A garnet."

Garnet thought for a few minutes. "I'd feel bad if Elizah didn't get proposed to – well, formally – with the ring we picked out. Maybe you can suggest to Mom to gift the garnet ring to her as a gift from her mother-in-law? Like a 'welcome to the family' kind of thing?"

"It's possible. Let me reach out to her." Portia pulled out her phone and made a quick call. After a moment, she turned back. "Your mom's OK with your idea, but she's doing some form of emerald necklace instead. We'll save the garnet ring for something else. Here's the box with the ring you and Elizah picked out; put it in your pocket. And don't forget which pocket you put it in," she added as an afterthought. "I've seen too many proposals take too long because the guy forgot where he put the ring. Yeah, that should work."

"Satisfied?"

"Yes. Do you have a speech planned out?"

"No. Why would that be necessary?"

Portia rolled her eyes. "All right. Let's just hope this works. I have word that Elizah is on her way, as in almost here. The cameras are all set up, all you gotta do is be smooth and all that jazz. Good luck!" And with that, she disappeared.

Garnet waited anxiously for a few minutes until she appeared. Elizah looked ravishing in her emerald-green mermaid dress; her hair was curled beautifully and swept to her left side, and though her makeup was simple, it still brought out the best in all of her features.

"Elizah," Garnet breathed, "you look stunning."

"Thank you," smiled the girl sweetly. You look very handsome too."

"Um… I know I already asked you this question before. But these three weeks have really been remarkable for me. You've been such a positive force in my life, and I'm so blessed to have met you and fallen in love with you. I'm so excited for all of the great things we'll accomplish together in life, and I know it'll be better with you by my side. So, with that being said…" Garnet carefully took the ring box out of his pocket, opened it, and bent down on one knee. "Elizah Klepper, will you marry me?"

Elizah giggled gaily. "Yes, Garnet. I will marry you."

Garnet stood up and placed the simple yet pretty ring on Elizah's left ring finger. "Finally. It's official!"

Elizah smiled. "That's weird to me. Like, this has been so theoretical for such a long time, and now it's… it's real."

"Are you satisfied?" Garnet asked sincerely.

"It's a weird way to fall in love. But it happened. And I am very, very happy to be marrying you." The two shared a kiss. "Elizah Emerald. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

* * *

 _Elizah Klepper, 16, District Seven_

* * *

 _Approximately three minutes before the present…_

Elizah tensed up a little bit at the roar of the crowd. It was loud, even louder than the crowd when she'd been revealed as one of the Selection ladies. For the first time, Elizah understood the spotlight that would be on her for the rest of her life; every move she made would be in the eyes of not just the entire Capitol population, but probably also the entire country.

"I'm a bit worried, Garnet," said Elizah. "That's a lot of people."

"Here," he replied. "Hold my hand. I'm here for you."

It had taken Elizah a while to adjust to the idea of loving Garnet. A large part of her idea of falling in love was that it would happen naturally, and take a long time. What she didn't expect was to fall so quickly for Garnet. Whenever they were together he was so sensitive and compassionate to her needs that it made Elizah forget how harsh he could be in a political setting. She wasn't head over heels in love like Melvina and Lennox were; it was more of a calm love, the kind of love you have by your tenth year of marriage. Something about being with Garnet just felt so right to Elizah, and she hoped that, no matter what craziness followed her in the coming days, weeks, and months, that their relationship would deepen and strengthen.

Suddenly, the plate jerked up, bringing Elizah and Garnet, still holding hands, up to the stage. As she became visible to the crowd, the cheering became louder, with some gasps sprinkled in. Elizah had been pretty cut off from the Capitol tabloids, but she gathered that most of the population, though not all of them, had anticipated her selection as Garnet's wife. Elizah, Garnet, and (by association) Harli took in the applause for a few more minutes, then took their seats on the stage; a white loveseat was set up for Elizah and Garnet, with a matching chair for Harli to use. Once Harli had gotten the applause to die down, she began the interview.

"Well, Elizah! What a pleasure it is to welcome you here to the stage once more! And now as the fiancée of our country's favorite son!"

"Thank you very much, Harli," smiled Elizah. "It's really so exciting to be here! And especially with Garnet by my side."

"I can tell from the way you two are looking at each other that you're deeply in love. Was it always like this?"

"Well, it wasn't love at first sight, if that's what you're asking. I think it took both of us a little time to figure out that we were not only compatible, but in love."

"And once that happened," Garnet jumped in, "there was no turning back. For weeks and weeks now, Elizah has been the only one on my mind."

"Aww," Harli said along with the crowd. "Now, if I'm not mistaken, you two are not getting married immediately, correct?"

"That is correct," replied Garnet.

"So don't call me Elizah Emerald just yet. We still have a few months to go!"

The audience laughed.

"Elizah and I are looking for a small ceremony," Garnet explained, "with just our families and close friends. And maybe some obligated political guests."

"If your whole family is invited, Garnet, I don't think that you'll be having a small ceremony," bantered Harli."

"Well, yes, my family is quite large. Anyway, there will probably be a larger reception, and tonight's festivities, I'm sure, are going to be giant. I don't even know what's happening, exactly. Violet and Mom planned it."

"Very nice. Now I'll turn things over to President Emerald for one moment, and then we'll end our broadcast for the night. Madam President."

"Thank you, Harli." Ruby turned to Elizah, and greeted her soon-to-be daughter-in-law with a delicate smile. Though Elizah knew nothing bad could come from it, it still made her quite nervous.

"I wanted to take this opportunity to formally and publicly welcome you, Elizah, to our family. I am so thankful that Garnet chose you to join our family, and I know that you'll be a wonderful representative of District Seven, all of the districts, and Panem as a whole. To formally welcome you to the Emerald clan, I wanted to present you with this necklace." Elizah took the silver chain from Ruby and examined the simple pendant; it was no more than an emerald in a silver setting, and yet its natural beauty appealed to her in a way that she could not explain. "We know that this transition from district life to a life in the spotlight may be difficult for you, but we hope you will find solace in being a part of our family."

"Thank you." Ruby and Elizah shared an awkward hug.

"Well, isn't that sweet!" Harli exclaimed. "I think that's all we have for tonight. Congratulations again to the happy couple. From the Capitol, I'm Harli Saleman. Good night!"

* * *

The night's festivities ran into the early morning, so the rest of the Selection ladies were given an extra day in the Capitol to recover and sleep before going home. Like other times when Selection ladies were sent home, the girls were divided into two trains; Pandora and Lennox were on one train, while Singer, Dania, Cayman, Melvina, and Danira were on the other. The girls said their goodbyes and then parted, preparing to return to their respective corners of the country.

Pandora was the first of the Selection girls to arrive home. She was greeted with open arms by her family, who were beyond thrilled to have their daughter back. Things had stayed pretty much the same at home while she was gone, so Pandora was basically able to jump in right where she left off. She came back to gymnastics less seamlessly than she'd hoped, but was eventually able to get back to the skill level she'd had two months prior.

What Pandora didn't expect, though, was a social divide unlike anything she'd previously experienced. There was something about her experiences that would forever separate her from her friends, though that was something that she'd never be able to put her finger on. So while she quickly got back into a normal routine, and eventually regained her previous skill level, things back home would never really be "normal" again for Pandora.

* * *

For Lennox's family, their daughter coming home had a much greater significance than for most of the other Selection ladies. The fact that Lennox was picked initially by Garnet meant that, despite the new statutes, her biological siblings would stay safe. And for young Raelynn, that meant more than the little girl would ever know.

Now, Lennox needed to settle into life in Ten in a way she'd never done before: find a job. She'd spent time working with her biological parents in their butcher shop before The Incident, but when she started applying to work at butcher shops, she was rejected, for fear of Lennox following in her parents' footsteps with involvement in the illegal meat trade. So she had to come up with a plan B.

Luckily for Lennox, there was an opening at the Davanzo Dairy Farm, left by Cheyenne after her death in the Games. While Lennox lived in the southern half of Nine, she actually wasn't that far away from the farm, and on days when she couldn't realistically get home, she was able to stay with the Davanzos. Though she spent less time with her family, it made Lennox feel good to be sort of earning her own living. And in doing so, she found a second family, one that was longing for a daughter.

* * *

The other train set off to the east. Its first stop was in District Eight, where Singer got off to go back to normal life. She was welcomed with open arms by the girls in her dorm, who were happy to have someone come back _to them_ from the Capitol; most girls who returned were either in boxes or moved into Victor's Village. Together, the girls added Singer's cloth square to the quilt; Elizah had helped Singer decorate it to make it look like a doily, officially making it more delicate than Singer herself.

Though Singer tried to take Garnet's advice, it was hard for her to break out her own mold. She spent the next year working harder in the factories, and by her nineteenth birthday, she'd already been promoted to floor overseer. Singer would continue to quickly rise through the ranks until she'd made it about as far as she could go.

And yes, despite her driven nature, she would eventually find love and understand what it meant to show compassion for others.

It would just take her a little while.

* * *

Next, the second train dropped off the girls from Nine. The three girls said goodbye to each other, then returned to their families to get back home.

Cayman's family was thrilled to have their daughter back home. Her siblings, Sirene and Noah, were bubbling with all of the exciting things she'd gone while she was away, and Cayman was thrilled to reunite with the two cutest people in her world. On the other hand, going back home meant being back in Max's territory. She'd volunteered to distance herself from her abuser, but now, she was right back where she started. Her solution was to thrust herself back into her work, doing everything she could to help out on the farm. Despite the hundreds of employees the Rye family employed on their generations-old rye farm that gave them their last name, Cayman, as a single employee, actually made a huge difference. She came back with such a positive energy that everyone worked harder, and productivity was the best that it had been all summer.

But Cayman still wanted a fresh start. She needed to get away. So, with her parents' permission, Cayman began to travel. First, she traveled all over Nine, and then, she traveled all across the districts. Eventually, after all of her wanderings, she returned home, and used her wisdom from her travels to help teach the next generation how to be kinder to each other.

For Melvina, not much changed when she got home. She was still a lovesick puppy, continuing to cycle through girlfriends and boyfriends like nobody's business. Melvina also kept working on her book, which went approximately nowhere. Everyone hoped that she'd eventually settle down, but that date seemed quite far away.

Dania would struggle a lot for the time that she was home. It was hard for her to be where Kylis once was without her girlfriend. To keep herself distracted, Dania flung herself into her studies. While she'd enjoyed herself in the Capitol, and she had studied a bit, Dania wasn't nearly as studious there as she was at home. Around November, she applied for university in the Capitol; somehow, the university to which she was applying was communicated to Garnet, and true to his word, he gave his recommendation.

Unsurprisingly, Dania made it in, and, coincidentally, traveled back to the Capitol to start school on the anniversary of Kylis's death. When she got the Capitol, however, she was in for the biggest surprise of her life.

* * *

Finally, after what seemed to her like forever, Danira came back home. She was thrilled to be back home with her father and nana, and was excited to jump back in the saddle (figuratively) and help out in the shop again. Her nana's eyesight had gotten even worse over the time she was away, so Danira's hands were more important than ever. And she didn't disappoint; Danira's hands were still as nimble as ever, and she was perfectly able to help out in every way she was before she left.

A few days after Danira got back, a customer came to the shop specifically requesting for her to polish his bike. Danira was a bit caught off-guard, but when she saw who it was, she was thrilled: it was Carlo, her favorite peacekeeper! She immediately became flustered and lost her ability to speak. "H-hey, Carlo."

"Hi, Danira. Did you have fun in the Capitol?"

"Yeah, I guess." Danira was so embarrassed that she couldn't get any words out. But, the two eventually had a really good conversation. Carlo told Dania that the rules of being a Peacekeeper had changed; now, instead of needing to wait twenty years to have kids, one needed to wait three. Better for the continuity of Panem, the President had said. "And she said we could date," Carlo added, almost as an afterthought.

"Are…are you asking me out?"

"I guess so."

"Then I would like that very much."

* * *

 **Farewells**

 **8** **th** **Place: Melvina Crusoe, District Nine**

 **As I was figuring out what to do with the Selection and how to make it interesting, and the idea of pairing Khara and Phoebe materialized, I came up with the idea to create a villain. And Melvina certainly fit the bill. I loved getting to develop a villain outside of the Arena, and I'm so glad that I got to bring the lovesick nature of Melvina Crusoe to life. Thanks, tracelynn, for Melvina and all of her ridiculousness, and I hope you enjoyed her character arc!**

 **7** **th** **Place: Danira Muntaner, District Six**

 **Oh, Danira was so much fun to write! When I first got Danira, I saw a lot of her; I too talk way too much about everything and can't keep a secret. I loved getting to build her as a fun and bubbly character, and getting to show through her eyes everything that was going on in the Selection house. Thanks, AlphaBetta, for Danira, and I hope I did her justice!**

 **6** **th** **Place: Cayman Rye, District Nine**

 **In the grand scheme of the story, Cayman really faded into the background; even though she had some interesting facets to her backstory, she didn't fit in to the greater arc. She was kind of, unfortunately, just there. I'm not sure, though, if her submitter is still reading, but if you are, I hope I did Cayman's complexity enough justice.**

 **5** **th** **Place: Singer Brocade, District Eight**

 **Of all the tributes in this story, I thought Singer had the cleverest name when I received her. Not only was it a great reference to sewing and fabrics, but it was also an unintentional reference to America Singer, which was great. I loved writing someone so focused and driven, and it was so much fun for me to have someone who just… kinda didn't care! Thanks, LCS, for Singer, and I hope you enjoyed her portrayal here!**

 **4** **th** **Place: Lennox Silverson-Smith, District Ten**

 **Oh, Lennox. My little oblivious cinnamon roll. I didn't intend to have her be so oblivious, but once I realized that she, too, was fading into the background, I realized that it would be perfect for her to be totally out of it. I loved having a character with a complex backstory like she had, and I'm so glad I got to write for her. I hope I did her well, AspiringAuthor94!**

 **3** **rd** **Place: Dania Kesten, District Nine**

 **I said when Kylis died that I killed her because it would be too happy of an ending if she came home. That's true, but I also thought I could really develop Dania without Kylis in the picture. And I think I succeeded in that. Dania was such a complex character that I really enjoyed getting to work with over the course of the story, and I really hope that I brought all of the various parts of her to life. Thank you so much for her, LokiThisIsMadness!**

 **2** **nd** **Place: Pandora Eurydice Zachery, District Five**

 **Pandora came so close. So so close. But, in the grand scheme of the Khara/Phoebe arc, she really needed to come in as Melvina's indirect target, someone who could take the heat if everything went quite right. I also enjoyed bring her and Khara together with chess, and really creating her as someone who was both intelligent and athletic, which stereotypically doesn't happen. Thanks, Winter, for Pandora, and I'm super excited that I got to bring her to life!**

 **Winner: Elizah Klepper, District Seven**

 **For quite a long time, I've known that Elizah was Garnet's choice. She just had all of the great qualities of a President's wife: kind, compassionate, observant, and reliable. The two characters were just so compatible and kind, and I'm so thrilled to get to keep writing her throughout this universe. So maybe this isn't the most normal way to get a Victor, but congrats, misfit-right-in, you have yourself a winner.**

* * *

 **Well, we made it! I think I surprised approximately one-fifth of my audience with this one, but the rest of you predicted it. Hey, you can't make everything totally surprising. But yeah! It's Elizah. Yay! I'm so happy to have reached this milestone; we've only got one more chapter before this story gets marked as completed! I can't believe it. We've come so far! Also, fun fact: This is the longest chapter in the story by almost 1,000 words.**

 **I'll plug myself once again: I have another SYOT open that's a sequel to this one. It takes the universe in a really fun direction that I'm super excited for!**

 **Next chapter we see Elizah's family's reaction to her selection eas Garnet's wife, then her first real conversation with Ruby before a big surprise, and then we'll pass time (you'll see what that means). I'm hoping to get the last chapter up this week!**

 **Thank you so much for all of your support. I really wouldn't be anywhere without it!**

 **-goldie031**


	60. Epilogue

**If you had asked me ten months ago if I thought I'd ever make it here, I honestly don't know if I'd have said yes. But we made it here, to the final chapter of MMAM.**

 **It's been a wild ride. Thanks for all of it.**

* * *

Elizah and Garnet spent the night after the big announcement in Garnet's room. The entire situation was, quite simply, awkward; Elizah felt weird around Ruby, Ruby couldn't figure out how to handle her son with a girl, and then, to top it off, the only bed in Garnet's room was a king sized. The two decided to request a twin bed for Elizah for the night and figure out the long term when they weren't falling asleep.

The next morning – er, afternoon, Elizah went back to the Selection House to pack up her bag. When she got back to Garnet's, Elizah was actually able to call her family (luckily, they were wealthy enough to have a phone). It felt so good to her to hear their voices! They spent a little bit of time catching up, then got to the big questions: how would Elizah move to the Caiptol, and would her family come with her?

"I think your best bet," suggested her father, "is to come back to Seven for a few days and pack up your things to bring back there. We can help you pack and stuff, but I also get the sense that you're not gonna need a ton in terms of clothing or shoes. We can pack some stuff over here to help you out, but I want to leave most of it to you."

"That sounds good to me. But aren't you coming to the Capitol?"

"Well… we don't know yet. We'd love to, but Mom and I can't both leave the logging company. And we can't exactly send Kathryn or Correy on their own yet. Janelle and Stephen, maybe, but they've also got their own stuff to deal with. This all came along really quickly, so we just don't know yet. Maybe Correy can go to school there."

"But I miss you!"

"I know. We miss you too! But there's a lot of loose ends. Maybe we can visit soon."

"That'd be nice."

Elizah spent a bit more time talking with the rest of her family before she hung up. She and Garnet spent the rest of the afternoon just chilling. After dinner, the two sat down to talk for a bit with Ruby.

"First of all, Elizah, I want to make it clear that I don't have any preference for what you call me. Whatever makes you comfortable. So if that's Madam President, that's fine, and if that's Ruby, that's fine too, and Mom is also OK once you're ready. I know this is awkward for everyone involved, so whatever works for you works for me."

"Thank you."

"So let's talk a bit of business. First of all, what are your thoughts on a wedding date?"

Garnet shrugged, then looked at Elizah, who also shrugged. "It's September. I think doing a wedding before December or January would be a little bit crazy. I want to be relaxed about it."

"I'm fine with that. We like January in this family; Garnet's birthday is in January, after all, and that's when the Victory Tour is as well."

"No way! My birthday is in January too!" Elizah exclaimed.

"When?"

"The seventh."

"Oh, Garnet's is the eighteenth. That's so funny! Did you know that, Garnet?"

"No, I didn't."

"All right. So January is our target. Maybe we can use the wedding to kick off the Victory Tour? I like that idea. Anyway, on to something that's more akin to my role as President. We wanted to talk about what you're going to do with your life now. My husband has a job, but he had that before we were married. It's the same way with Cerise's husband. But you don't have a job. So we've got to figure out something for you to do. Garnet and I were talking during the Selection process as his choice became clear, and we came up with an idea that we want to run by you. How do you feel about being the leader of a new cultural movement in Panem?"

"What?"

"Among other things, one major change I want to make here in Panem is creating a stronger national culture that's not based around the Games. Music, art, dance, theater, literature, all of those things. Garnet was telling me that you have a passion for art, and so we want you to spearhead our push for culture. You'll be the head of the government's Department of Culture, which will get funding to bring arts education to the schools in all of the districts. We'll work to make the Capitol a center of entertainment, then bring the musicals, plays, ballets, and art exhibits on tour everywhere for free (or at least very little money). How exactly this works will be your responsibility, but it's something about which we're very excited."

Elizah's eyes were sparkling. "That sounds amazing."

"I'm very glad," smiled Ruby. "We're planning on rolling out the culture initiatives early next year as well, so that'll give you some time to think and plan. It's something that we're very excited about. All right, Garnet. She's all yours for the night."

Garnet nodded. "If you think you'll need a light jacket, go grab it. We're going somewhere tonight."

Elizah was a bit caught off guard, but obliged, and moments later the two were in a car with blacked-out windows, going to who knows where.

"One thing that you need to be aware of when you're this high up is the presence of rebel groups. That's not to scare you, it's to make you conscious of who's around you. We're not going to bog you down with all of them, just the three that we feel are most important.

"So the first one is the Alexios group. They are arguably the biggest threat to us of any rebel group in Panem. They're the first rebel group in the country where they're not trying to get rid of places or events, but people, specifically anyone blood-related to President Snow. While you're not blood-related to them, you're married to me, which is basically the same thing. They also go after other politicians, Gamemakers – basically anyone involved in government. That's why we have extra security right now. The one good thing is that they haven't actually attacked anything yet with force, just with words, which are powerful but not life-threatening. We've also managed to take care of three or four high-ranking people in the group, so they need some time to regroup and recover before they can do anything significant.

"The second group is the main rebel group in the districts, which is centered in Eight and migrated to Eleven in recent years. You'll probably see outposts of this group in Nine, Three, Twelve, and Ten, the bordering districts; Two also borders Eight and Eleven but they're so loyalist that it's totally fine. Anyway. We consider them an anarchist group; their goal is to get rid of the Capitol. Not a person in particular, the whole thing. They don't really understand, in my opinion, the disaster that would happen if this country went totally government-less, but that's beside the point. They are capable of planning and carrying out a full-blown attack; they almost did about fifty years ago."

"Really?"

"Yeah. This is confidential info, by the way. Basically, Eight and Eleven were planning on working with a Gamemaker contact to stage a rebellion around the time of the Third Quell. By a fluke – or at least, what I've been told was an actual fluke – the contact got sick. Then my great-grandfather found out about the potential rebellion and… knocked it out. They haven't tried anything since, but that doesn't mean they're not capable of doing so.

"The third rebel group you need to know about is a little different." The car came to a stop in front of an inconspicuous skyscraper on a street of skyscrapers. Garnet led Elizah down a hidden set of stairs; their car driver slash security guard followed. "They are the only rebel group in the country operating with the government's permission."

"How is that possible?"

"Because they're doing simple, inconspicuous things that are helping Mom's cause."

Garnet and Elizah emerged in a simple gray room, with corridors shooting off of it that seemed to lead to a larger complex. There, they met up with a woman with caramel colored hair, chocolate-brown eyes, and tannish skin; for a Capitolite, she looked quite… normal.

"This is Sami Rolo," Garnet said. "She's one of Aunt Amethyst's most trusted Gamemakers, and after the fallout between my aunt and Jameson Soneclair, who was once her assistant, Sami stepped into the role. That's a story for another time. Five years ago, Sami, who had a very good idea of how every aspect of the Arena works, proposed the idea of essentially smuggling tributes out of the Arena by faking Arena-caused deaths. Mom, Aunt Amethyst, and Sami worked out a deal that essentially established the acceptable way to choose tributes to smuggle out: one male and one female per Games, no tributes from One, Two, Four, Eight, or Eleven, and the Arena deaths had to make sense. We had to make an exception for this year's Games on multiple counts, as you can see, but there you go. This is a rebel group with which we will likely be working very closely."

Elizah scanned the room. "This is quite an impressive operation. Has anyone ever found out about this?"

"No," Sami said confidently. "When the tributes come out of the Arena, we keep them here in this underground complex to altercate and reeducate them. They'll then be placed in some of our more loyalist districts to begin our own war of words, to work on spreading the message that the Games maybe aren't so good. And I'm sure that some of the other things she's planning for the next decade or two will help as well. Would you like to meet the former tributes?"

Elizah nodded. "I'd love to!"

Sami led the couple down one of the hallways off of the main room. "We give each pair of tributes a little suite with a common area and a classroom." They entered the first room. "From the 121st Games, we have Laila Gray from District Five and Ilan Merics from District Seven." Elizah gave the boy a shy wave; the two had been in many classes together at school, as they were the same age. Somehow, the tall and willowy twelve-year-old had matured into a taller, but nicely built, young adult. His death, which she now knew was fake, had really scared Elizah, because they were the same age. She didn't remember Laila all that much; maybe that's why Sami and her crew had chosen her to save. The five made some small talk before Sami, Garnet, and Elizah moved on.

"From the 122nd Games, Bailee Graff from District Nine and Otto Frederickson from District Six." Elizah also remembered Bailee very well; the girl was tiny, even for the twelve-year-old she was during her Games. Bailee had taken a strategy similar to Rue McClellan's: stay in the trees. That worked really well until the tree she was in fell over a cliff during an earthquake that had also taken out Otto, three other tributes, and the Careers' food supply. Physically, the boy could have been a big threat, but had a poor showing in training and an even worse interview.

Sami led the couple farther down the . "From the 123rd Games, Juniper Anaf from District Seven and Ashton Phillips from District Twelve." Juniper and Elizah also knew each other from home, though Juniper was two years older than Elizah; however, she might have been the least memorable Seven tribute in the previous decade. The other tribute, Ashton, was genderfluid, and actually had a legit shot in the Arena, but a fluke accident had led to him losing his water and food supply really early on and being unable to find it; theoretically, he had died of dehydration. It was quite impressive to fake a death in plain sight of the audience.

"From the 124th Games, Deana Gadya from District Ten and Alistair Holt from District Three." Elizah was a bit surprised; Alistair was a _huge_ name in the Games last year as the son of Three's mayor. She remembered the sinkhole that had opened up on the left side of the Arena that had taken him, Deana, and the male from Nine out; it surprised Elizah that they'd chosen to save him and let the Nine boy go. But, it wasn't her place to ask why they made the decisions they made.

Finally, Sami came up to the door of the fifth suite. "Any guesses, Elizah?"

"I'll let you surprise me."

Sami pushed the door open. "From District Six, Ferrari Benz, and from District Nine, Kylis Divola."

* * *

The next year was an exciting year for Elizah. In November, she and Ruby formally set up the Department of Culture. Thanks to Ruby's expansion of inter-district travel, Elizah immediately reached out to some of her musical friends from the Selection to help set things up, which brought Phoebe and Bonnie to the Capitol to do a concert for some important potential donors to the program. It worked really well, and soon the Department of Culture became a beloved institution in the Capitol.

At Ruby's suggestion, Garnet and Elizah got married as the kick-off to the Victory Tour. Their wedding date was smack in the middle of their two birthdays, condensing all of their celebrations into eleven days. The two made a promise not to have a kid until Elizah was eighteen and a half, which Ruby was totally fine with; Ruby didn't want her son raising a child he wasn't ready for.

Though they would visit frequently, Elizah's family would choose not to move to the Capitol, but her brother, Correy, would spend two months with his sister before starting school soon after the 126th Games. It took Elizah a little while to find a comfort zone in the Capitol without her family, but eventually acclimated to life with the President. Ruby would never admit it, but the proudest moment in her life was when Elizah called her mom for the first time.

* * *

Things were quite exciting for some of the other Selection girls as well. In December, Bellona Terminus received an invitation to begin to train to become a Gamemaker; as someone who was up-close and personal to the Games for her whole life, she was considered an obvious choice by the Gamemakers to join their ranks. After some discussion with her family, she chose to take the job; Bellona packed up a bag, said goodbye to her home, and made her way to the next phase of her career in the Games.

When she arrived in the Capitol, she was taken by car to the housing provided for the trainees. Bellona was nervous to find that she would be placed with a roommate. But, when her roommate walked in the door, she was ecstatic to find that she knew her. It was Euodia Grove! While the two hadn't been particularly close during their time in the Selection, it was comforting for Bellona to not only know her roommate but to have lived with her previously.

"So, Ruby offered me a seat on the Games Fairness Council. But I had to decline."

"Why would you decline that?" Bellona asked.

"Ruby forgot about the specifics of the Seven statutes."

Euodia went on to explain that the former mayor, Mayor Lafe, had been put under a statute: five years for bribery related to his election victory and two years for tampering with the Reaping slip. That meant that his only daughter, Pansy, would be under the statutes for the rest of the time that she was of Reaping age. "Pansy and I didn't get along in Seven, to say the least, and with her under the Statutes, I really don't trust myself to be fair. I can't be on the Games Fairness Council that way."

"That's very mature of you."

"Ruby thought so too. She then offered me a spot in the Gamemaker Training Program, which I took."

"So we'll be together!"

"Yeah!"

Bellona and Euodia would do very well in the early days of Gamemaker training, eventually becoming recognized as the strongest pair of trainees.

In September of the year of the 126th Games, Dania moved to the Capitol to begin her time in university. When she got there, she found herself in a very small minority of District students, one of whom was named Correy Klepper. The two began as simply friends, but slowly became much, much closer. Dania was initially hesitant to fully love Correy, a stark contrast to her love with Kylis. But, she also learned that relationships could exist without constant fighting. It took Dania a little while to fully trust in Correy and believe that, yes, there could be love after Kylis.

Of course, Dania didn't know that Kylis had never died. And Kylis didn't know that Dania was in the Capitol. In an ironic twist, Kylis would be sent out to One after her altercation; she wouldn't know what came of Dania until the tabloids in one printed reports of her wedding to Correy Klepper. For Kylis, Dania would always be the one that got away.

* * *

Despite Ruby's worries, there wasn't a giant outcry in the Capitol when it was announced that their own children would be participating in the Games; after all, as she had emphasized, it was a very small sliver of Capitol children who were eligible. What Ruby didn't expect was excitement to participate; to her surprise, the first two Capitol tributes to ever participate in the Games were volunteers, neither of whom were under the statutes. Even after the event of those Games, Capitol children would continue to train and volunteer their lives away.

Unfortunately for the two very excited Capitol tributes, the Outer District tributes were looking for revenge. Spearheaded by Polyna Nixon, the female from Eight, a secret acquaintanceship formed between every district tribute. The agreement was that nobody would leave the Cornucopia or kill each other until both Capitol tributes were dead.

When the 26 tributes launched into the Arena, everyone went along with the plan. Well, everyone except for two tributes: Edison Rakesh, a thirteen-year-old boy from Three in on a two-year statute for vandalizing a Capitol train car, and Tziporah Boronsky, a twelve-year-old girl from Ten in on her mom's one-year accidental manslaughter charge. Edison was the only tribute with enough street smarts to realize that there was something odd about the Careers agreeing to that deal; usually, they strayed _far_ away from the Outer District tributes unless neither tribute from Four was trained. He had a feeling that going along with the plan was a bad idea, and may or may not have warned Tziporah about it because he had a small crush on her.

Edison was right.

When the gong sounded, Edison and Tziporah ran. All of the other Outer District tributes surrounded the Capitol pair and watched as Polyna, in the name of revenge for 125 years of Games deaths, brutally murdered them. Meanwhile, the Career tributes gained control of the whole area of the Cornucopia, which just so happened to be on top of a mountain from which one could see the entire Arena. They also gained control of the remaining weapons. Once Violet had finished her murder spree, the Careers attacked, leading to the biggest Bloodbath in the history of the Games; seventeen of the 26 tributes were dead within an hour. Other than Edison, Tziporah, and the Careers, the only other survivor was Polyna, meaning that the targets for Sami's group to save had to be Edison and Tziporah.

The second morning, the top of the mountain started shaking; suddenly, geysers of magma began spurting out of it. The Careers quickly gathered their weapons and went hunting for the first tribute they spotted, who just happened to be Polyna, to avoid getting torched by magma. Six Careers on one Outer District tribute wasn't even a fight; Polyna was dead in seconds.

It was at that point that the Careers committed a fatal flaw: miscounting the number of tributes in the Games. Instead of going by the number of tributes left, they went by the number of tributes _dead._ With eighteen gone, it had to be only the Careers left. At least, that was what the leader of the pack was telling her much less intelligent pack-mates. She tapped in to animosity between the boys from One and Two to orchestrate the pack essentially imploding on itself. (While the cameras were focused on that, Sami was able to wash tiny Tziporah into the ocean using the magma. It was a little disappointing for her that she was only able to save one tribute, but she figured that one was at least better than none.) After the dust had cleared, there was only one survivor: the girl who had inititated the battle in the first place.

Twenty-four hours after the Games had started, two Victors were announced, who would meet for the first time on stage at the Victory Ceremony: Edison Rakesh from District Three, and Calytrix Porcher from District Four.

* * *

In the January immediately preceding the 129th Games, Ruby announced the redistricting process, an attempt to adjust the economic gap between people in the districts, as well as between the districts. In addition to reassigning the districts' industries, Ruby planned to make Thirteen a district again, focused on military and Peacekeeper training. When she got there with a group of people planning to move in from the districts, she found a fully functioning, autonomous district. (She'd later find out that President Snow had known about it, but neglected to inform her of Thirteen's existence before his death.) After a conversation with the group's leader, Ruby decided to give all of the citizens of Thirteen full citizenship of Panem with all of the associated rights and privileges. But, the entire population of the district would be put under a special five-year Reaping Statute; any child originally from Thirteen who was of Reaping age would be eligible in two Reaping bowls, both in the district in which they live and in a special bowl for the children who were once in Thirteen.

The redistricting process was generally a success. With a few exceptions, the people in the districts that switched industries took to them well, and the economic gap began to lessen. One reason for that was that people were given the opportunity to choose a job about which they were passionate; the people of Panem worked harder, leading to a greater money flow. Additionally, with businesses less worried about hiring someone who could get Reaped, the number of people in the workforce increased; Ruby also created government stipends helping businesses hire more people so they could buy more goods and so on and so forth.

All of Ruby's changes to Panem not only helped the country thrive, but it also made her more popular with the districts; for the first time, the people felt that their leader was on their side. Much of the rebel activity in the country decreased in the decade following the Fifth Quell; Panem was finally becoming a truly livable country. And now that Ruby had her people's support, she was ready to make yet another big change; all she could hope was that the country looked at it just as positively as she did.

* * *

 **There it is. We've traveled ten years of time in the universe, found out more about post-125** **th** **Panem, and learned about more of Ruby's changes to Panem. And congrats to Celtic – not the most normal way to get a Victor, but I'd count it!**

 **I can't believe that I've actually completed this story. It seems like so long ago that I started it, but I've gone through so many changes since then. I've loved getting to bring these characters to life, and I'm so happy that we'll get to see a bunch more of them in the next story!**

 **Thank you all so much for your tributes, for your reviews, for your advice, for your… everything! This story wouldn't have been possible without all of your support, and I am so thrilled with all of it.**

 **Finishing a story is a big accomplishment. I could not be more thrilled with how far this universe and this story have come, and I can't wait to see where I go.**

 **Thank you all again.**

 **-Goldie031**


End file.
